The Changing View of Slavery

Justus Engelhardt Kuhn and Robert S. Duncanson held respected reputations for their artistic abilities. Kuhn was the first Maryland portrait painter, of German descent from the Rhine Valley who continued his painting until his death in November 1717. Duncanson was a pre-Civil War African-American painter widely recognized as one of the great landscape artists. Given the time period and background of the two artists, one can expect their artwork to also differ in style, content, and …

…commercial success, Duncanson was not isolated from the racial issues that were paramount in America during the middle of the nineteenth century. Duncanson benefited from abolitionist patronage and actively supported the antislavery movement. Therefore, he was able to use his great ability in landscape painting to also address racial issues. The view towards slavery represented by his style and content shows that the issue of slavery had changed dramatically over time, yet it still existed.