Renty and the Peabody Museum
The fight over who owns the picture of a man who was never asked.
Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.
How the story begins
In 2017 a Connecticut woman, Tamara Lanier, asked Harvard to give back the pictures of a man her family called Papa Renty, who she said was her ancestor. Harvard refused and questioned her claim. The pictures were made in South Carolina in 1850. There are fifteen of them, and they show seven enslaved people: Jack, Drana, Delia, Renty, Fassena, Alfred and Jem. Renty and his daughter Delia were stripped to the waist.
The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.
Visiting
11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, a short walk from Harvard station. The photographs in this story have left the building. Check the museum's opening hours before you go in.
Sources
- PBS NewsHour, Harvard ends legal battle over early photos of enslaved people (2025)
- Hyperallergic, Harvard Relinquishes Photographs of Enslaved People (2025)
- Harvard Magazine, See Their Faces
- Charleston City Paper, IAAM welcomes home controversial images relinquished by Harvard (2026)
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