January 27, 2021
Robert S. Duncanson, Landscape with Rainbow (1859). Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
A painting by the famous Civil War–era Black artist Robert S.
Duncanson was chosen by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Senator Roy Blunt for the
gift-giving ceremony at the U.S. Capitol rotunda. The 1859 work, titled
Landscape With Rainbow, was painted by Duncanson two years before the onset of
the Civil War, and depicts a pastoral scene sparsely populated with cows and
people, with a rainbow above that symbolizes renewal and hope. The work is
described as a “pastoral landscape” in which a young couple strolls through
fertile pastureland, toward a house at the end of a rainbow. Golden light
illuminates a carefully organized Arcadian landscape at the end of the day.
Hills, trees and a shimmering lake are laid out in a subtly dynamic diagonal
grid. A luminous, blue sky caps and almost dominates the peaceful rural scene
below. “Landscape With Rainbow” carries with an unmistakable ray of hope:
Rainbows typically appear after a storm has passed, not before.
Duncanson was born in Cincinnati and was considered the “best
known African American painter in the years surrounding the Civil War,”
according to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which owns the work. The artist
was known, among other things, for his abolitionist political views, which
often figured in his landscapes in metaphorical ways. Many of his
paintings envision peaceful vistas that could be seen as alternate visions of a
conflict-free country.
“The gifts represent the hope and the faith the American people have
placed in you to move our country forward,” the Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar
said.
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