Historic Sotterley partners with the Boyden Gallery at St. Mary’s College of Maryland to present an art exhibit featuring portraits of descendants from the plantation’s past. The show, titled Sharing our Common Humanity from Common Ground, opens September 30 and runs through December 12 in St. Mary’s City. Artist Nicole Stewart contributes the first 38 portraits from her ongoing Sotterley Descendants Portrait Project, joined by photographs from Ken Barlow and quilts by Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A soft opening occurs Monday, September 29, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., allowing early public access. The formal opening reception follows on September 30 from 4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m., both events free and open to visitors. The Boyden Gallery, located on the second floor of Montgomery Hall at 47685 Margaret Brent Way, serves as a hub for visual arts engagement in Southern Maryland, drawing on the college’s liberal arts focus to connect art with historical narratives.
Nicole Stewart’s project spans two years, with plans to paint 60 to 100 portraits of registered Sotterley descendants overall. These works aim to document living connections to the site’s 300-year history, including ancestors who were enslaved, owners and 20th-century laborers. The initial 38 portraits introduce many attendees to Historic Sotterley, a 94-acre National Historic Landmark near Hollywood in St. Mary’s County. Future exhibitions will expand the display across the region, building on this foundation.
Stewart described her approach in a statement: “By painting Sotterley Descendants, I want to honor all the ancestors who lived on the land and who built the Maryland that I love, and to the descendants who spread across the land, who continue to build and support their states and our country. I want to create work that changes our perspective of our history and our future.”
The exhibit aligns with Historic Sotterley’s Descendants Project, formalized in 2017 after informal efforts began with descendants Agnes Kane Callum and John Hanson Briscoe. Callum, a genealogist tracing Black history in Maryland, and Briscoe, a former Maryland House speaker descended from plantation owners, helped shape the initiative during the site’s reinterpretation in the 1990s. By 2025, the project has registered over 300 self-identified descendants across 30 states and six countries. Four descendants now serve on the board of trustees, representing diverse ancestral ties.
This effort grew from Sotterley’s Common Ground Initiative, launched in 2018 to foster dialogue on shared histories of slavery and resilience. The plantation, established in the late 17th century along the Patuxent River, operated for 165 years under enslaved labor until Maryland’s emancipation on November 1, 1864. Ownership passed through families like the Tayloes, Platers and Briscoes, who relied on tobacco cultivation and the Chesapeake’s maritime trade. Today, as a UNESCO Site of Memory for the Routes of Enslaved Peoples, Sotterley interprets all aspects of its past, from Indigenous land acknowledgments to post-emancipation stories.
The exhibit highlights descendants’ broader impact. Participants engage in national projects such as the Africatown Clotilda Descendants in Alabama, the GU272 Descendants Association linked to Georgetown University, and preservation at James Madison’s Montpelier in Virginia. Locally, connections extend to Riversdale House Museum in Prince George’s County and Cremona Plantation in St. Mary’s County. These collaborations underscore how Southern Maryland sites address collective memory, with Sotterley leading in descendant involvement.
Ken Barlow’s photographs and Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither’s quilts complement Stewart’s portraits, weaving visual threads through themes of humanity and heritage. Gaither, a Baltimore-based quilter and educator, often incorporates African American narratives into her textile art, drawing from traditions that blend craft with storytelling. Barlow, a Southern Maryland photographer, captures portraits that emphasize personal presence, aligning with the exhibit’s focus on common ground.
Funding comes from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Southern Maryland Folklife Center, supporting cultural projects that preserve regional traditions. The Folklife Center, part of the Maryland Humanities, documents Southern Maryland’s diverse heritage, from maritime folklore to African American genealogy. This backing enables Sotterley to extend its reach beyond its 20 historic structures, including the 1703 Manor House and an 1830s slave cabin dedicated to Callum in 2017.
Sotterley’s evolution reflects broader shifts in historic site management. In 1996, it earned a spot on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Places, spurring community support. Under executive director Nancy Easterling, who served from 2009 until May 2025, the site expanded educational programming. Gwendolyn Bankins, a descendant of enslaved people at Sotterley, became board president in 2025, the first such role for a descendant in Maryland.
Archaeological work, like the 2025 dig in the slave cabin led by descendants Gwen Bankins and John Briscoe Jr., uncovers artifacts from figures such as Gerard Roberts Kane, an enslaved carpenter who built furniture and treated ailments with local herbs. Such efforts, detailed in Maryland State Archives’ Flight to Freedom Project, reveal escape stories and daily lives, enriching exhibits like this one.
The exhibit closes a chapter on Stewart’s initial phase while previewing expansions. More portraits will appear in future shows, potentially at sites like the St. Mary’s County Museum or College of Southern Maryland. This progression invites ongoing public involvement, mirroring the Descendants Project’s goal of building connections. Visitors to the Boyden Gallery can explore these layers during the run, contributing to a narrative that spans from colonial tobacco fields to modern reconciliation.
Historic Sotterley maintains self-guided and docent-led tours year-round, incorporating descendant stories. Virtual programs, including speaker series, extend access online. The site’s 94 acres include trails, gardens and a museum store, drawing over 10,000 visitors annually for programs on Chesapeake heritage. Through art like Stewart’s, the plantation continues to document how past labors shape present communities in St. Mary’s County and beyond.
