A man laughed straight at us in this wonderfully drawn image. He is dressed in a blue jacket with gleaming gold buttons, a hefty coat, and a beanie as if he is just stepped in from the weather. His face is drawn to us by a bright red scarf peeking out from beneath his jacket. He has lived a great life, as seen by the creases on his brow and around his cheeks, as well as the white hair that appears from beneath his cap. He is active and vigorous, as evidenced by his red cheeks, beautiful brown skin tone, and glitter in his eyes.
At first sight, the individual shown in this artwork appears to be an average man, but he is pretty exceptional. Yarrow Mamout was taken to Maryland in a strange situation from Guinea, West Africa. He had been enslaved for forty-five years, achieved his independence, owned a home in Georgetown, and held property in banking when he was a youngster by the time this image was painted. Yarrow Mamout could read and speak Arabic, English and was a devout follower of Islam.
Peale was 77 years old at the time and was becoming increasingly interested in how to live a happy and prosperous life. He set out to trace Yarrow and create his portrait of her. Peale painted Yarrow’s picture in two days and kept a diary of the experience. To learn more about his life, Peale went to Margaret Beall, whose ancestors had imprisoned Yarrow for forty-five years before ultimately manumitting him. She told Peale that her former husband, Brooke, had stated that he would be liberated if Yarrow could make enough brick to build houses.