approx. 64” x 44” on canvas. Acrylic/oil. created in Norfolk, VA 2021
Matt Sesow
Underground Railroad, 2021
Oil/acrylic on canvas
64 x 44 inches
Courtesy of Matt Sesow
“I created this painting on the ODU campus while staying in Norfolk, Virginia. It represents the history of Norfolk and how George Latimer escaped via the underground railroad on a ship headed to Baltimore in 1842. Latimer had a son, Lewis Howard Latimer, who went on to help discover and invent better filaments for the light bulb, an evaporative air conditioner, and an improved toilet system for railroad cars.”
- Matt Sesow
On October 4, 1842 , Latimer and his wife, Rebecca, who was pregnant at the time, ran away. The pair hid beneath the deck of a northbound ship that took them to Baltimore. Lewis Howard Latimer (September 4, 1848 – December 11, 1928) was an American inventor and patent draftsman. His inventions included an evaporative air conditioner, an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for light bulbs, and an improved toilet system for railroad cars. In 1884, he joined the Edison Electric Light Company where he worked as a draftsman and wrote the first book on electric lighting.