LAUSR

the early twentieth century, but also white/non-white relations more broadly. The author strikes a balance between the particulars and the general. A few more worthwhile comparisons with the legacy of wetnursing in the United States, which was inextricably rooted in the history of slavery and exemplified by the Mammy archteype caricature of the African American woman, would have added to the richness of the analysis. The main ommision in Black Women Slaves Who Nourished a Nation, however, is a reflection on the author’s identity and how her positionality may have influenced the conclusions drawn. It is crucial that scholars based in the ‘Global North’ continue to cast their gaze upon histories that are distinct from their own. Doing so is vital to establish an inclusive and diverse field of art history, which speaks to transnational concerns and ensures that histories of the globe are not continuing Eurocentric histories of the West. Yet I was left wondering how Cleveland had unpacked the identities and meanings of the images and objects she encountered, both historically and locally. An impressive array of archives have been engaged with, from the Arquivo Público do Estado da Bahia in Salvador to the Museu AfroBrasil in São Paulo. What tools did the author use to decentre her ‘foreign’ gaze onto the Afro-Brazilian subjects that she examined? What methods, approaches and theoretical frameworks did she employ to problematize the hegemonic influence of Western European and North American scholarship within her subject area? How did the author unpack images as complex sites of interaction and encounter between different races, ethnicities and gazes, not least her own? A stronger theoretical framework containing a broader mix of Afro-Brazilian scholars might have been one way to achieve this. Transparency is, of course, key. A greater discussion of how Cleveland’s gender, ethnicity, sexuality, education and ‘mother tongue’ inevitably had a bearing, whether direct or not, upon her readings of race, would have added to the nuances of the work, whilst providing useful instruction to other scholars inevitably grappling with similar challenges.