86

EDWARD MITCHELL BANNISTER

American, 1828-1901

Coastal Scene

oil on canvas tacked to board
4 1/2 x 6 3/8 in., frame: 7 7/8 x 9 3/4 in.

  • Provenance: The Collection of a Rhode Island Doctor.
  • Notes: Grogan & Company thanks art historian Anne Louise Avery for her analysis of this painting. It is accompanied by her report and letter of opinion confirming the authenticity of the work.

    Providence artist Edward Bannister created a sensation when his painting won first prize at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. Working in the 19th century, he faced an uphill battle to become one of the few African American painters to garner significant recognition in his day. Born in New Brunswick, Canada he moved to Boston where he began formal training in the 1860s under Dr. William Rimmer, who admitted Bannister as the only African American student in his evening drawing classes. Bannister moved with his wife to Providence, Rhode Island in 1869 where he found a thriving community of African American artists and took a studio in the Woods Building, where he would continue to work for the remainder of his career. His position among the Providence art society was cemented in 1878 when, while serving on the board of the Rhode Island Schools of Design, he founded what would later become the Providence Art Club with fellow artists George Whitaker and Charles Stetson.

    The tiny dynamic New England seascape is typical of Bannister's oeuvre, and likely depicts a view towards the mouth of Narragansett Bay from the Conanticut Island seacoast. Rhode Island landscapists favored the uninterrupted sea views along this dramatic coastline, and the bustling activity depicted with racing yachts, sloops, and a steamer in the distance is typical for the area in the late nineteenth century. The composition and narrative qualities of the painting are likewise consistent with Bannister's work, particularly his Rhode Island studies from the 1880s and early 1890s. The mass of rocks anchoring the pictorial structure in the bottom right of the piece and the positioning of a single boat as the focal point highlight quintessential Bannister devices. He frequently painted local maritime workers as well as his family and friends, and his inclusion of the two figures evoke a subtle narrative as they appear to engage with the shore-bound sailboat. In his spare time, the artist enjoyed sailing on his modest Herreschoff-built sloop which he often included in his seascapes. The treatment of the sea with thick, tightly-spaced capped waves together with the subtly complex tonal qualities of the sky with windblown clouds are unmistakably Bannister, the latter frequently compared to those by Constable.
  • Condition: One small loss with corresponding inpainting along upper edge, center; could do with a cleaning.

    Please note: All property is sold "AS IS" and any statement, whether oral or written, is given as a courtesy and shall not be deemed as a guarantee, warranty, or representation of the authenticity of authorship, physical condition, size, quality, rarity, importance, provenance, exhibitions, literature or historical relevance of the property or otherwise. The absence of a condition report does not imply the item is in perfect condition.

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May 1, 2022 11:00 AM EDT
Boston, MA, US

Grogan & Company

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