coralie frey

The painting "Bélizaire and the Frey Children," commissioned in 1837 by Frederick Frey and his wife Coralie D’Aunoy Favre, depicts their children alongside Bélizaire, a fifteen-year-old enslaved domestic.

The portrait reflects the complex relationship between the enslaved boy and the Frey children, who grew up together in a mansion in New Orleans.

Tragically, Elizabeth and Léontine Frey died young, and Frederick Jr.

also passed away shortly after, leaving Bélizaire as the only child to survive into adulthood.

After being sold to Lézin Becnel in 1857, Bélizaire worked as a cook and domestic laborer.

The painting remained in the Frey family until it was donated to a Louisiana museum in 1972, where it was later discovered that Bélizaire's figure had been painted over.

Following conservation efforts, the image of Bélizaire was revealed, and with the help of researchers, the identities of the children were confirmed, restoring the significance of this important artwork attributed to Jacques Guillame Lucien Amans.