Recovering a Master Artist’s Story

Moses Williams: Cutter of Profiles brings long-overdue attention to one of the most prolific—and overlooked—artists of early America. Born around 1776, Moses Williams was an extraordinary silhouette artist whose finely cut “profiles” captured the likenesses of hundreds of people at a time when photography did not yet exist.

Williams was born enslaved to artist and museum founder Charles Willson Peale and grew up working in Peale’s Philadelphia museum. There, he developed his remarkable skill, eventually earning money for his work and becoming one of the earliest documented African American artists to achieve professional success. His story now comes full circle at The Peale in Baltimore, the museum founded by Rembrandt Peale, where his life and legacy are being re-examined and shared with new audiences.

Developed in partnership with Quatrefoil Associates, this exhibition marks the first iteration of a permanent, evolving installation dedicated to Moses Williams. Ongoing research continues to shape and expand the exhibition, reflecting The Peale’s commitment to telling history as a living, unfolding process.

Through silhouettes, interpretive materials, and experimental display techniques, Moses Williams: Cutter of Profiles invites visitors to consider authorship, labor, race, and artistic innovation in the early United States—while restoring visibility to an artist whose contributions were nearly lost to history.