To S.M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works

The title of the poem gives readers the subject of the poem. S.M. refers to Scipio Moorhead, an enslaved artist and poet who was a friend of Wheatley’s, and who likely engraved the image of Wheatley on her published poetry collection. The painting that Wheatley is responding to has not survived.

The poem begins with the speaker describing the details of Moorhead’s painting. Interestingly, however, we do not get a depiction of the painting’s subject matter or visual imagery. Instead, the speaker dwells on the artist’s process and skill, focusing on Moorhead’s abilities rather than the object he has created. The speaker extols the painter’s superior draftsmanship: “thy pencil did those beauties give” (Lines 3); she also argues that the artist has made the work so lifelike that the painting’s subjects are “breathing figures learnt from thee to live” (Line 4). The speaker has had a deeply personal response to the art, as this “new creation” gave her “soul delight” (Line 5). This word choice—and “creation” in particular—is a biblical allusion that echoes God’s creation of humanity in the Book of Genesis.

In lines 7 and 8, the speaker implores the painter to “fix thine ardent view” on a “noble path” (Lines 8, 7).