Mary Peak Under the Emancipation Oak

Original - Oil on canvas 24"x 30" Mary Smith Peak is best known for starting a school for the children of former slaves starting in the fall of 1861 under what became known as the Emancipation Oak tree. This historical painting was done for an exhibition at Hampton University in June of 2013. It shows Mary teaching reading to a group of children and in the background is Fort Monroe, the largest stone fort ever built in the United States and the only moat-encircled fort. A copy of this painting was used in the making of the series Making Black America, a four-part series hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.