Seton Hall University Libraries will host an exhibition titled “Ukraine’s People Revealed” at the Walsh Gallery, featuring 26 rare paintings from the eighteenth century. The collection offers some of the earliest known visual representations of Ukrainian society and will be on display for the remainder of the spring semester.
The exhibition opens with a public lecture and reception at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 25, in the Silent Study Room on the first floor of Walsh Library. Nathaniel Knight, Ph.D., who curated the exhibit, discovered these images during archival research. He will discuss their discovery and historical significance during the opening lecture.
The paintings come from the Bergholtz Collection of Ethnographic Images at the Swedish National Museum and date back to the 1740s. They depict various segments of Ukrainian society such as clergy, soldiers, artisans, and peasants.
Nathaniel Knight stated, “One of the dominant themes in Russia’s ongoing propaganda war is the erasure of Ukrainian identity. Putin has repeatedly claimed that Ukrainians were always part of the Russian nation. This exhibit refutes these claims and shows the historical depth and strength of Ukrainian nationhood.”
He also noted, “The exhibit shows a series of recently discovered portraits of Ukrainians dating back to the 1740s, representing a broad cross-section of Ukrainian society. The word ‘Ukrainian’ is used to identify most of the subjects, and elements of dress and accoutrements show clear marks of Ukrainian identity. The images are the earliest known ethnographical depictions of ordinary Ukrainian people and are therefore of great significance for present-day Ukrainians and for historians of Eastern Europe.”
After Knight’s lecture from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., attendees can view the exhibit during a reception.
The Walsh Gallery is directed by Emily Handlin, Ph.D., and regularly hosts exhibitions that support academic engagement across disciplines at Seton Hall University.
Both the opening event and exhibition are free and open to all members of the public.
