Edward Mitchell Bannister, Boat on Sea, n.d., oil on canvas, 5 1⁄8 x 8 in. (12.9 x 20.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of J. Wesley Johnson, 1983.95.89
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Boat on Sea
- Artist
- Date
- n.d.
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 5 1⁄8 x 8 in. (12.9 x 20.4 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of J. Wesley Johnson
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Waterscape — boat
- Landscape — weather — cloud
- Landscape — coast
- Architecture — boat — sailboat
- Landscape — time — sunset
- Landscape — time — evening
- Object Number
- 1983.95.89
Artwork Description
The sea was a favorite subject for Edward Mitchell Bannister, who had worked as a cook on a trading ship. In this peaceful view of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, a popular subject for nineteenth-century American artists, he focused attention on the brilliant coastal light. Bannister was a deeply religious man who shared with many Americans of his time a belief that nature was an expression of God’s presence. In this scene the radiant light illuminates the bay to suggest a divine blessing. (Narratives of African American Art and Identity: The David C. Driskell Collection, 1998)
