Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
This is the third of four lectures in America’s Architecture of Freedom and Unfreedom, the 74th A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts presented by Mabel O. Wilson of Columbia University.
Through an exploration of governmental, commercial, and residential buildings constructed along F Street in Capitol Hill, this talk reveals the history of how enslaved and free Black laborers became essential to Washington City’s transformation from a verdant patchwork of plantations to a monumental capital. The story of Peter (last name unknown), a carpenter enslaved by James Hoban, an immigrant Irish architect and builder who designed and supervised the construction of the President’s House (today’s White House), sheds light upon how Hoban and his peers’ hard-fought freedom and wealth depended upon confining Black craftsmen like Peter to conditions of unfreedom.
This lecture’s title is taken from an advertisement in the “Maryland Herald and Eastern Shore Intelligencer” (November 11, 1794).
Inaugurated in 1949, the Mellon Lectures is the longest-running lecture series at the National Gallery of Art. The series was founded “to bring to the people of the United States the results of the best contemporary thought and scholarship bearing upon the subject of the Fine Arts.” Learn more: nga.gov/research/center/programs/mellon-lectures
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This is the third of four lectures in America’s Architecture of Freedom and Unfreedom, the 74th A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts presented by Mabel O. Wilson of Columbia University.
Through an exploration of governmental, commercial, and residential buildings constructed along F Street in Capitol Hill, this talk reveals the history of how enslaved and free Black laborers became essential to Washington City’s transformation from a verdant patchwork of plantations to a monumental capital. The story of Peter (last name unknown), a carpenter enslaved by James Hoban, an immigrant Irish architect and builder who designed and supervised the construction of the President’s House (today’s White House), sheds light upon how Hoban and his peers’ hard-fought freedom and wealth depended upon confining Black craftsmen like Peter to conditions of unfreedom.
This lecture’s title is taken from an advertisement in the “Maryland Herald and Eastern Shore Intelligencer” (November 11, 1794).
Inaugurated in 1949, the Mellon Lectures is the longest-running lecture series at the National Gallery of Art. The series was founded “to bring to the people of the United States the results of the best contemporary thought and scholarship bearing upon the subject of the Fine Arts.” Learn more: nga.gov/research/center/programs/mellon-lectures
Still haven’t subscribed to our YouTube channels?
National Gallery of Art ►►youtube.com/NationalGalleryofArtUS
National Gallery of Art Talks ►►youtube.com/NationalGalleryofArtTalks
ABOUT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
The National Gallery of Art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity.
More National Gallery of Art Content:
Facebook: facebook.com/nationalgalleryofart
Twitter: twitter.com/ngadc
Instagram: instagram.com/ngadc
Pinterest: pinterest.com/ngadc/_created
E-News: https://mailchi.mp/nga.gov/signup
