MetCollects introduces highlights of works of art recently acquired by the Met through gifts and purchases.
In this video, Wendy S. Walters recites the poem she wrote in response to Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's sculpture Why Born Enslaved!, which was recently acquired by The Met. In it, she confronts the power dynamics at play in creating and viewing a work of art that depicts an enslaved woman of African descent, and she wonders about the identity and status of the model who posed for Carpeaux.