Boston Street Scene (Boston Common), 1898-1899
Edward Mitchell Bannister was born in 1828, in St. Andrews, Canada, the son of a woman of Scottish descent and a father from Barbados, in the West Indies. Since he was born in Canada, he did not suffer from slavery like many African Americans who lived in the United States.
As an adult, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, a city that had a reputation of having a liberal, intellectual atmosphere. There he met and married Christina Carteaux of Rhode Island, a descendent of the Narragansett Indians, and a prosperous owner of beauty salons in both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island.
Although primarily known as a landscape painter, Bannister also painted portraits.
Bannister and his wife were active in anti-slavery and other social causes. But life in Boston was not easy and Bannister had a difficult time finding an artist with whom he identify because of his race.
Bannister was the first African American artist to receive a national art award - the first prize bronze medal at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 - and was part of a handful of African American artists who received prominence during the 19th century.
Bannister became an important and well-respected artist in New England and was one of the original board members who helped start the Rhode Island School of Design, which is a prominent art and design school today.
Bannister died in 1901 at which time was the subject of many tributes. His friends organized an exhibition of over 100 of his paintings at the Providence Art Club (which he also helped create), and later erected a stone monument that still stands on his grave in North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island.
Text and image courtesy of Baltimore City Public School System.
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