Charles Duncanson no relation landscape art
Early life
Robert Seldon Duncanson was born in Fayette, New York, in 1821. Duncanson was one of the five sons of John Dean Duncanson (c. 1777 – 1851), a free black tradesman, and Lucy Nickles (c. 1782 – 1854). Often, it is cited that Robert's father was Scot-Canadian; however, there is no evidence to support this claim, and it is unclear when or where the original source of the claim began. All evidence points to Robert Seldon being the descendant of freed slaves from Virginia. John Dean's father, Charles Duncanson, was a former slave from Virginia who was freed from bondage by his owner. Charles received special privileges, including his emancipation and the opportunity to learn a skilled trade, because he was likely the illegitimate son of his owner.  After becoming emancipated, Charles and his son John Dean lived as freemen in Virginia. However, at the end of the eighteenth century, white opposition toward free black men grew in the Upper South. In response, Charles, his son John Dean, and his wife Lucy Nickles, like many free African Americans, moved north. The Duncanson family settled in Fayette, New York, where Robert Seldon was born. Charles' knowledge of carpentry and house painting was passed down to his son, John Dean, and his grandchildren. This knowledge would later allow Robert Seldon Duncanson to develop as an artisan and later as an artist.
In 1828, the family moved to the “boomtown” of Monroe, Michigan, following the death of Charles. In Monroe, John Dean found considerable success working as a housepainter and a carpenter. This  success allowed him to support his family and educate his children. During their childhood, Robert and his four brothers apprenticed in the family trades of house painting and carpentry. While Robert's brothers achieved modest success as housepainters, Robert emerged as the most talented of his siblings in his apprenticeships. In 1838, Robert established a painting business with partner John Gamblin. Robert and his partner frequently advertised their services in local publications, like the Monroe Gazette. However, in 1839, Robert suspended the business in order to pursue his ambition to work as a portrait painter.
In 1840, nineteen-year-old Duncanson left Monroe and moved to Mount Pleasant, Ohio, a town north of Cincinnati later known as Mount Healthy, to begin his career in fine arts. Duncanson lived in Mt. Healthy with the Reuben Graham family who were also descendants of Virginian slaves. The community of Mt. Healthy, like Cincinnati, had a substantial free black population. In the nineteenth century, Cincinnati was considered a "'southern' town on free soil”. Cincinnati was a fast-growing city—the city’s population grew from 43,000 to 115,000 between 1840 and 1850. In particular, Cincinnati attracted many freed or escape slaves in search of a new community. The city hosted one of the largest African-American communities in the U.S. Upon Duncanson’s arrival, the African-American population of the city was approximately 3,000. Many of these 3,000 African-Americans living in Cincinnati were previously enslaved. By 1870, the city had 5,900 African-American residents, with an overall population of 216,000.Duncanson was primarily attracted to Cincinnati for its strong arts community. In the 19th century, Cincinnati was referred to as "the Athens of the West". It was also referred to as the "emporium of the West" by its free black population who had much greater access to opportunities of advancement there than in other parts of antebellum America. During the 19th century, Cincinnati and the American west became well known for its landscape artists, including William Louis Sonntag, Godfrey Frankenstein, T. Worthington Whittredge, and Duncanson himself.Legacy
Robert Seldon Duncanson was one of few African American landscape painters of the nineteenth century, and he achieved levels of success unknown to his contemporaries. By the 1860s, Duncanson was proclaimed to be the "greatest landscape painter in the West" by the American Press and London newspapers held him in equal regard to other British artists at the time. Richard Powell of American Visions says that Duncanson’s success is a “victory over society’s presumptions of what African-American artist should create.” Duncanson became nationally and internationally known for his landscape paintings modeled after the Hudson River School tradition, and is credited with developing the regional Ohio River Valley art form. Art historian Joseph D. Ketner claims that Duncanson's greatest contribution to art was "his distinctively picturesque-pastoral vision of landscape painting with allusions to popular romantic literature."Duncanson was largely forgotten from American art history until his work was rediscovered in the 1950s and 1960s. However, art historians maintained a false narrative about Duncanson for several decades. Beginning in the 1990s, art historians like Ketner made an effort to research Duncanson's life and work to develop an accurate portrayal of the artist.
The primary art historical controversy surrounding Duncanson is whether or not he represented racial issues in his art. Some art historians, like Ketner, theorize that there are veiled racial meanings in his paintings, while others, like Vendryes, consider his landscapes to be “race-free." Ketner asserts that Duncanson's artworks are representations of his cultural and racial identity. Vendryes argues that Duncanson did not explicitly represent contemporary racial issues in his work, and warns viewers from interpreting Duncanson and his art solely through the lens of his race, as it may limit the viewer's understanding of his work.
Since 1986, the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, Ohio has maintained an artist-in-residence program for contemporary African-American artists in honor of Duncanson.
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