Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum February 15, 2003 to September 12, 2004 Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum Cincinnati Art Museum logo
A Word from P&G - Overview of Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum Cincinnati Painters and the Big Picture - discusses how Cincinnati Artists fit into a larger art historical perspective The Works from The P&G Collection - themed galleries of the works in the show Index by Artist Name - a list of all the artists represented in the show and the works they completed Go back to the Cincinnati Art Museum Home page
Robert S. Duncanson (1821–1872)
Landscape with Waterfall, 1853
oil on canvas
41 3/8 x 55 1/2 in.

   The year 1853 was an important one for Robert S. Duncanson. On April 26, he left Cincinnati for Europe with William Louis Sonntag (see Sonntag’s work nearby) his studio mate and friend. This trip was unprecedented as Duncanson was the first African American artist to break through the racial prejudices of the art world and undertake the “Grand Tour” of European art centers.

This work, painted that same year, is particularly grand in size, and its oval shape is uncommon for Duncanson. It was almost certainly a commissioned piece and hangs in an elaborate, golden Victorian frame (perhaps the original frame), which enhances the painting’s dramatic effect. The landscape shown is not of any particular location, but rather an imaginary, romantic scene invented by Duncanson.