Untitled (man on horse with woman and dog)

Edward Mitchell Bannister, Untitled (man on horse with woman and dog), n.d., oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eliot and Rhoda Liffland, 1983.95.123
Copied Edward Mitchell Bannister, Untitled (man on horse with woman and dog), n.d., oil on canvas, 21 1⁄2 x 28 3⁄4 in. (54.5 x 73.1 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eliot and Rhoda Liffland, 1983.95.123
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Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (man on horse with woman and dog)
Artist
Date
n.d.
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
21 1⁄2 x 28 3⁄4 in. (54.5 x 73.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Eliot and Rhoda Liffland
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • Animal — dog
  • Animal — horse
  • Landscape — forest
  • Landscape — road — path
Object Number
1983.95.123
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.123

Artwork Description

Light played a prominent role in many of Edward Bannister's works, reflecting a deep Christian faith that sustained him throughout his life. He found comfort in his long walks in the country in search of views that would make good paintings. His desire to capture God's presence in nature was shared by numerous nineteenth-century landscape artists, who followed the advice of America's first great landscape painter, Thomas Cole, to be more than "mere leaf painters." In this painting, a small patch of sunlight falls directly on the couple and their horse, who appear dwarfed by the dramatic scale of the trees and clouds behind them.