Talk:Robert S. Duncanson

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I'm doing a report on Robert S. Duncanson for History, and I was dissapointed by how little information I was able to find on him. Wikipedia is normally one of my main sources for research. I had to add some info that I found on other sites in hope of helping others who may be interested in him. I think he was an amazing artist, and should be better known. 207.157.28.77 22:16, 22 January 2007 (UTC)Paige

For your own good, you should be using Wikipedia as a starting point for your research, not as "one of your main sources". Same goes for any other encyclopedia.—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); 20:22, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Sources on Duncanson

I'm editing this Wikipedia article for a class assignment. I've pasted my literature review below--the sources I'm planning to use to bolster this piece. Please let me know if you have any advice about other sources to use.

Bearden, Romare, and Harry Henderson. A History of African-American Artists: From 1792 to the Present. New York: Pantheon Books, 1993.

This book situates Duncanson in his social and historical context. This book will be incredibly helpful in providing an explanation of Duncanson’s place in the history of African-American art. In particular, I look forward to discussing how racism may have restricted Duncanson and his contemporaries in their pursuits.

Cavallo, A. S. "Uncle Tom and Little Eva, A Painting by Robert S. Duncanson." Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 30, no. 1 (1950): 21-25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41505095.

This article provides information about the commission of Uncle Tom and Little Eva (1853), one of Duncanson’s most discussed works. The author provides several interpretations of the work and information about how the work was received in its time. I plan to use this source to bolster the section of the article that discusses Uncle Tom and Little Eva (1853).

Farrington, Lisa E. "BLACK OR WHITE?: RACIAL IDENTITY IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART." Source: Notes in the History of Art 31, no. 3 (2012): 5-12. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23208589.

This article explains how Duncanson’s lighter complexion allowed him greater access into the art world—more opportunities for travel and wealthier patrons. The author references a few other African American artists who shared these advantages, including Joshua Johnston (c. 1765-1830). Additionally, the author explains that the North was a more “favorable” place for African Americans to pursue fine arts professions. This information will be useful in my discussion of Duncanson’s career in the historical context.

Kahn, Eve M. “Condemning Slavery with a Paintbrush.” The New York Times, July 14, 2011. Accessed 20 February 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/arts/design/painter-robert-s-duncanson-and-2-jewelry-exhibitions.html

This article discusses an upcoming exhibition of Duncanson’s work. It discusses the controversy of misinformation about Duncanson, and Ketner’s work to establish an accurate common understanding of the artist. I am not sure if I will end up using this piece in my Wikipedia article. I would like to find a newspaper article from the nineteenth century that discusses Duncanson and his career, but I have not been able to locate anything useful yet.

Ketner, Joseph D.. "Duncanson, Robert S.." Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition, edited by Ed. Kwame Anthony Appiah. , edited by and Henry Louis Gates Jr.. . Oxford African American Studies Center, http://www.oxfordaasc.com/article/opr/t0002/e1300 (accessed Tue Feb 14 10:50:26 EST 2017).

This article gives an overview of Duncanson’s life and career, highlighting several important dates and works. This article will be a solid reference for key facts in the Wikipedia article. Additionally, I plan to use this as a guide when evaluating the structure and chronology of the Wikipedia article. Although it is currently cited in the Wikipedia article, it is worth mentioning that I plan to use Ketner’s The Emergence of the African-American Artist: Robert S. Duncanson, 1821-1872 to add to my Wikipedia article. Ketner’s book provides greater detail than this article. Specifically, I’ll use the book to discuss Duncanson’s relative privilege as a “mulatto,” his style, and the later years of his life.

Mendelsohn, Jim. "Cincinnati, Ohio." Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition, edited by Ed. Kwame Anthony Appiah. , edited by and Henry Louis Gates Jr.. . Oxford African American Studies Center, http://www.oxfordaasc.com/article/opr/t0002/e0933 (accessed Tue Feb 14 12:48:47 EST 2017).

This article only briefly mentions Duncanson; however, it provides greater context about the climate and demographics of Cincinnati in the nineteenth century. The author discusses the city’s strong abolitionist presence and antislavery movements. Additionally, the author discusses the limitations of free blacks, particularly the lack of education, which affected Duncanson. This information is very relevant to the artist, and it gives the reader a greater understanding of the city in which Duncanson worked.

Mercer, Valerie J., and Kirsten Pai Buick. "African American Artists Gain Access to the Fine Art Professions." Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 86, no. 1/4 (2012): 8-17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43492323.

This article discusses how abolitionist patronage for African American artists in the nineteenth century. It highlights Duncanson’s unique role as a landscape painter as many nineteenth century African American artists did not portray landscapes. Additionally, the article mentions the art historical debate of whether Duncanson did in fact represent racial issues in his art. I will use this source to provide the reader with information about the controversy and Duncanson’s position as an African American artist in antebellum America.

Patton, Sharon. African-American Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

This book will be a tremendous resource for me in editing my Wikipedia article. Patton provides a lot of information about Duncanson, his prominence in the international artwork, and interpretations of his works, including Land of the Lotus Eaters (1861) and Blue Hole, Flood Waters, Little Miami River (1851). Moreover, the book puts Duncanson in his art historical context. I will use the information in this book to address the art movements of the time, discuss Duncanson’s contemporaries, and explore Duncanson’s influence on African-American art. In particular, this book will be helpful in substantiating claims about the “Belmont” murals.

Pringle, Allan. "Robert S. Duncanson in Montreal, 1863-1865." American Art Journal 17, no. 4 (1985): 29-50. doi:10.2307/1594425.

This article discusses Duncanson’s time spent in Montreal from 1863 to 1865. The author explains how well received Duncanson was in Montreal and the importance of the connections that he made there, and emphasizes Duncanson’s tremendous influence in the Canadian art scene. This information will be useful in my discussion of Duncanson’s time abroad and his international recognition.

Prono, Luca. "Visual Arts." Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass, edited by Ed. Paul Finkelman. Oxford African American Studies Center, http://www.oxfordaasc.com/article/opr/t0004/e0577 (accessed Tue Feb 14 11:42:06 EST 2017).

This article provides greater context about the unique challenges experienced by African American artists throughout American history. There is a specific section titled “Visual Arts in the Nineteenth Century,” which discusses Duncanson and his work. One interesting challenge of this time period is that many white Americans believed that African Americans were unable to produce art. The author discusses how Duncanson used metaphors to convey racial issues in his art. The piece specifically discusses two of his works, Uncle Tom and Little Eva (1853) and The Land of the Lotus Eaters (1861), which draw on racial themes, although in different ways. I plan to draw on the interpretations of these works to explain how Duncanson incorporated his identity, heritage, and contemporary racial issues into his work.

Vendryes, Margaret Rose. "Race Identity/Identifying Race: Robert S. Duncanson and Nineteenth-Century American Painting." Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 27, no. 1 (2001): 82-104. doi:10.2307/4102840.

This essay argues that Duncanson did not explicitly represent racial issues in his works. The author warns the reader to avoid interpreting Duncanson’s work solely through the lens of his race. This is one perspective in the art historical debate about Duncanson. This will be helpful in my discussion of conflicting interpretations of Duncanson’s work as it relates to racial issues. Please note that I used this work in the first citation assignment, so it does appear in the citations on the Wikipedia article.

Kellyskeen (talk) 17:28, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

Use of miscegenation

In the section on Abolitionist patronage, the term miscegenation is used to explain Duncanson's lighter skin tone. According to the article on miscegenation, the term is "is almost always a pejorative term which is used by people who believe in racial superiority or purity.[6]" As the article suggests, wouldn't it be better to use a less loaded term such as "interethnic or interracial marriages"? --Ella Dawn 04:25, 25 January 2023 (UTC)

Yes, "miscegenation" does have pejorative connotations; it is also anachronistic to use it in relation to Duncanson. The term was coined during the U.S. Civil War, as a way to decry the idea of "race mixing." That is, pro-slavery ideologues tried to rabble rouse by insisting that ending slavery would lead to social and sexual intermingling between whites and Blacks, which they represented as anathema. In reality, slavery facilitated the sexual predation of African Americans by whites. Moreover, there is no need to rigidly maintain lines of "racial purity" by outlawing or impugning *consensual* interracial relationships or by stigmatizing people who are biracial or multiracial. Excellent correction! MsTheMug (talk) 18:10, 22 June 2023 (UTC)