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Palmer River, 1885

Edward Mitchell Bannister

The Palmer River flows from Massachusetts into Rhode Island. Bannister’s depiction reflects his admiration for French landscape artists, but it is also a study of weather. In the foreground, the shoreline is sprinkled with wildflowers. Over the calm waters of the river, a band of clouds dips low, heavy with moisture.

Bannister first made his living as a barber after being denied access to formal artistic training because of his race. Early portrait commissions from prominent members of the Black community in Boston launched his career. Following the Civil War — during which he was deeply involved in antislavery activities — he moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and turned his attention to landscape painting.

Object Data

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 61.6 × 86.6 cm (24 1/4 × 34 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased as the Gift of Gerald Spears

Accession Number

2021.11.1

Artists / Makers

Edward Mitchell Bannister (painter) American, c. 1828 - 1901

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Detail Information

Inscription

lower left: E M Bannister 85

Provenance

Scott A. Smith, by 1901; by descent in his family. acquired c. 1960s by Joseph K. and Anne Ott, Providence; acquired 1985 by Daniel R. Mechnig, Providence; (sale, Sotheby's, New York, 19 May 2021, no. 46); purchased 2021 by NGA.

Associated Names

Mechnig, Daniel R.
Ott, Joseph K. and Anne
Sotheby's

Exhibition History

1901: Bannister Memorial Exhibition, Providence Art Club, Rhode Island, January 1901.

1985: Hidden Heritage: The Art of Black America 1800-1950, The Art Museum Association of America in California, San Francisco, (tour?) 1985-1990, no. 16.

1990: Edward M. Bannister Exhibition, Providence Art Club, Rhode Island; Newport Art Museum, Rhode Island, 1990-1991.

1992: Edward Mitchell Bannister 1828-1901, Kenkeleba House, New York; Stamford, Connecticut; Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion, 1992-1993, p. 13.

1997: Edward Mitchell Bannister, Providence Art Club, Rhode Island, May-June 1997.

2001: Edward M. Bannister: A Centennial Retrospective, Roger King Gallery of Fine art, Newport, Rhode Island; Kenkeleba House, New York, 2001-2002, p. 14.

2007: Barbizon to Impressionism Exhibit, Newport Art Museum, Rhode Island, 2007-2008.

2009: Black Entrepreneurs of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Museum of African American History Boston and Nantucket, Nantucket; Federal Reserve Bank, Boston, 2009-2010, p. 9.

2010: Our Founders, Providence Art Club, Rhode Island, 2010.

2013: Mapping Realism: Paintings from the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium and American Collections, McMullen Museum of Art, Boston, 2013, no. 48, repro.

2018: Edward Mitchell Bannister, Gilbert Stuart Museum, Saunderstown, Rhode Island, 2018.

Bibliography

2021: Anderson, Nancy K. "Gifts & Acquisitions." Art for the Nation no. 64 (Fall 2021): 16-17, repro.