Woman Reading Under a Tree

Details

Descriptive Terms

landscapes (representations)
oil paint (paint)
canvas
Painting
Painting

Label

Edward Mitchell Bannister was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and after the early death of both his parents he moved to Boston and worked as a barber, one of the few careers open to African Americans. He also found work tinting photographs. Eventually he studied painting with Dr. William Rimmer at the Lowell Institute and went on to become one of the most successful black artists of the nineteenth century. A founder of the Providence Art Club, he spent most of his artistic career in Rhode Island.
"Artful Stories": Born in Canada, Edward Mitchell Bannister was one of the few black artists to be widely recognized in the United States before 1900. Arriving to accept a prize at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, he was refused entry, but finally received the medal after fellow exhibitors protested. Bannister taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and painted local scenery using techniques of the French Barbizon School, which prioritized nature’s ordinary beauties over iconic views such as Benjamin Champney’s Mount Chocorua in this gallery. Here, a woman reads while breezes flutter the leaves and grasses.

Inscription

"E M Bannister" (Black paint on the lower right corner)

Additional Identification Number

TR1991.1

Maker

Bannister, Edward Mitchell (American painter, 1828-1901) (Artist)

Location of Origin

Rhode Island, United States

Dimensions

14 3/8 x 18 3/8 x 2 1/2 (HxWxD) (inches)

Credit Line

Museum Purchase

Accession Number

2018.35.1