Fortune as he may have looked in life. Painted
by William Westwood, a medical illustrator, based on Fortune's skeleton.
A New Exhibit
In the spring of 2003, the Mattatuck Museum unveiled
a new exhibition, Fortunes Story: Larrys
Legacy. With the aid of new technologies, the exhibit
reveals the complex stories of Fortune and his family,
the Porter family, and the story of slavery in Waterbury.
Facial Reconstruction
At the recommendation of Dr. Mark Mack of Howard University,
the museum engaged forensic artist Frank Bender to prepare
a facial reconstruction based on Fortunes skull, so
that the interpretation of Fortunes story can focus
on his life, rather than his image after death. Bender,
who has been commissioned by the FBI and police departments
around the country in their crime-solving, used scientific
methodology to re-create the appearance of Fortunes
face.
The facial reconstruction was part of a life-size re-creation
of Fortune that transforms the skeleton, familiar to generations
of local visitors, into a scientifically accurate portrait
of an historical man. It is the centerpiece of the museums
exhibit about Fortune and the African American community
in eighteenth-century Waterbury. The full figure image
of Fortune was created by medical illustrator William
Westwood, who based his drawing on a measured study of
the skeleton and historical accounts of the clothing of
eighteenth-century African Americans in Connecticut. The
exhibit unit, which also incorporates video clips of the
work of the scientists and the facial reconstruction process,
was designed by Vincent Ciulla Design of Brooklyn, New
York.
The Manumission Requiem
Marilyn Nelson, Connecticuts Poet Laureate, was
commissioned by the Mattatuck Museum to write a eulogy
honoring Fortune. Her Manumission Requiem, read
by the author, is also included in the exhibit, bringing
an emotional resonance to the stories associated with
Fortunes life and the legends that have grown up
around it. The poem is also being published as a book,
Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem.
On-Going Work of the Fortune's Story Project
The museum is currently preparing a documentary about the
Fortune project and curriculum materials for teachers to
use in school classrooms.
The scholars advisory panel for the project includes
Dr. Susan Lederer, historian of medical ethics at the Yale
Medical School; Dr. Gretchen Worden, Director of the Mütter
Museum of medical history; and Orlando Bagwell, producer
of the PBS documentary series Africans in America.
The project has been organized with the on-going assistance
of a community advisory panel, the African American History
Project. The committee has worked with the museum on the
process of the research and the decisions about the presentation
of the material. They have helped the museum organize
public programs and public discussions about the material
developed during the research. They will help the museum
decide what the appropriate treatment of Fortunes
remains should be.
The permanent exhibit which opened at the Mattatuck Museum
in 2003.
Overlay Image
The painting of Fortune as he may have looked in life
was based on the photograph of his skeleton. The painting
was done by medical illustrator William Westwood.
Facial Reconstruction
The scientific reconstruction of Fortune's face was
done by forensic artist Frank Bender.
Facial Reconstruction
The final relief sculpture of Fortune as he may have
looked in life. Created by Frank Bender. Collection
of the Mattatuck Museum.