This
imaginative book throws new light on the closing years of Caribbean
slavery and the lives of enslaved people of African descent before
emancipation in Trinidad in 1834. The book centres on the drawings of
plantation life by Richard Bridgens, an English-born artist who became a
planter and slaveholder in Trinidad, and examines these in the context
of contemporary documents. The result is a detailed written and visual
account of the everyday life of enslaved people, and the conditions
under which they lived and worked.
Judy Raymond, in a deeply researched and
elegantly written book, has shed light on Bridgens' career, and has
closely analyzed his remarkable drawings...
This engaging and
enlightening book crosses genres, combining biography, history and art
criticism, and makes a significant contribution to Caribbean art history
and to our understanding of slavery in Trinidad during its last decade.
- Bridget Brereton, Emerita Professor of History, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago
Raymond, a former editor-in-chief of the T&T Guardian, has written two previous biographical studies of local artists, jeweller Barbara Jardine and fashion designer Meiling, a release said.
The Colour of Shadows: Images of Caribbean Slavery is published by the Caribbean Studies Press of Florida.
