Join the RJD for a reception and be the first to see RJD’s newest exhibition, Unraveling the Revolutionary Journey of William Rotch Sr. The exhibition features the art of a new historical graphic novel “Quaker, Whaler, Traitor, Spy! The Trials of William Rotch” written by Dr. Sarah Crabtree and illustrated by Melissa “Sawhand” Philley. Twenty prints of art in the book will be on display. The artist, Melissa Philley will speak about her work at 6:30pm. This event is free and open to the public.
Accused of treason four times by three governments in two revolutionary decades (1775 – 1795), William Rotch suffered from the “with-us-or-against-us” political landscape of the late eighteenth century. A Quaker, he opposed wars for independence and empire. Yet he downplayed and even withheld key details from his story, a second narrative that began with the Boston Tea Party, stretched across the world, and made him one of the wealthiest men in America.
This exhibit invites the viewer – you! – to decide which label best describes him. Along the way, we’ll revisit some famous (and infamous!) events and we’ll hear from a few characters you’ve definitely heard of and some maybe you haven’t. What we hope is that you’ll agree his-story is a way of reapproaching how history is made – a story that is as much about who and what we remember as how and why we remember them.
