Untitled (landscape, woodcutter on path)

Untitled (landscape, woodcutter on path)

This landscape places a lone woodcutter along a winding path, surrounded by dense and dark nature. The composition draws attention to manual labour. In a historical moment when Black labour was exploited and rarely represented, Bannister’s decision to center a working figure reshapes how we understand the pastoral genre. For this exhibit, the painting underscores Bannister’s long-standing engagement with work, place, and belonging, deeply tied to the Black experiences in North America.

Edward Mitchell Bannister

Bannister, Edward Mitchell. Untitled (landscape, woodcutter on path). 1879. Oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. Object no. 1983.95.141.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

1879

Public domain. Image and data courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

1983.95.141

Oil on canvas

7 1/4 × 11 3/4 in. (18.4 × 29.8 cm)