Flash of the Spirit:
African and Afro-
American Art and Philosophy
by Robert
Farris Thompson
African-American
Art
(Oxford History of Art)
by Sharon
F. Patton
The
History of Black art and African American Art Part 3, Robert S. Duncanson
continued
Robert
Scott Duncanson, painted from the 1840's until shortly before his demise
in 1872. He was born in 1821 in Fayette New York. He started out as a
house painter. Duncanson, grew up in Monroe on Lake Erie "as part
of an extended family of painters and interior decorators". He tried
to establish a partnership in the family trade. Nevertheless, he was unsuccessful
in his efforts. Later, in about 1840, after moving to Cincinnati, then
the business and cultural center of the western United States, Duncanson
was working to seek better opportunities.
Humble
Beginnings for a
Budding Genius and Forerunner of
Excellence in African American Art.
He earned
his way as a house painter for a while as he trained himself in the fine
arts by copying paintings. His first original paintings included still
lifes and portraits of White Cincinnati abolitionists. Duncanson, was
referred to at the time, as an example of black ability. He was even referred
to as "the best landscape painter in the west" by a Cincinnati
newspaper.
In 1848,
Rev. Charles Avery, also a mining company owner and abolitionist, commissioned
Duncanson to paint the first profitable coppermine in North America. This
resulting landscape was Cliff Mine, Lake Superior and was to mark a turning
point in his career. About 2 years later Cincinnati's wealthiest resident,
Nicholas Longsworth, commissioned Duncanson to paint eight landscape murals
for his mansion. Longsworth would be a very important patron and supporter
for Duncanson to service. Duncanson, created and completed the work with
great aplomb. Thereafter, his work really began to show the fruit of his
hard labor over the years.
Great
Developments for a Black Artist and for Black Art and African American
Art
By
1850 Duncanson moved into a studio next to William Sonntag, a proponent
of the Hudson River School and adapted that style. The perspective of
the Hudson River School, was that the wilderness represented a symbol
of America's promise. Therefore artists of this school painted American
landscapes in bold contrasts of light and dark meticulous detail.
Duncanson
takes His
Landscape Painting International
In 1853
Duncanson, with the financial assistance of Nicholas Longsworth, joined
William Sonntag in studying landscape paintings and natural scenery in
England, Italy, and France. An outgrowth of the trip was Duncanson's increased
confidence in his artistic talent. In a letter to a friend he stated "Of
all the landscapes I saw in Europe, and I saw thousands, I do not feel
discouraged."
Two
Great African American Artist
combine forces to Create and Inspire
Once
back in Cincinnati, Duncanson made a living by retouching and coloring
portraits by James Presley Ball, a black daguerreotyper that owned the
best known art studio in the Ohio Valley. Duncanson continued to refine
his landscape painting style. He exhibited paintings of ancient ruins
based on his international travels in James P. Ball's Gallery. The collaboration
between the two prominent black artists, Duncanson and Ball, drew aspiring
black artists and artisans to Cincinnati.
Robert
Scott Duncanson, is a forerunner of Outstanding African American Artists
that embody the Excellence of Black Art and African American Art.
Shortly
after the start of the Civil War in 1861, Duncanson finished his most
ambitious work up until that time. The name of the painting was titled
Land of the Lotus Eaters. Later in 1863 Duncanson moved to Canada and
helped to establish Canadian landscape painting. Two years later he traveled
to Great Britain to exhibit his paintings. In 1866 he returned to the
United States and began to create a series of Scottish influenced landscapes.
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