Valley Pasture
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Melvin and H. Alan Frank from the Frank Family Collection
Accession Number
1983.104.1
Tags
About this artwork
A group of Cincinnati abolitionists recognized the talent of African American artist Robert Duncanson, bought his works, and sponsored his trips to Europe. These trips honed the artist's technique and gave him a chance to compare his work with the masters. His pastoral landscapes appear traditional, but may quietly evoke the most divisive issue America faced at mid-century. Tiny figures stand on the far banks of the river, and beyond them lies a dreamlike landscape of mountains and farms. This m...