Central Business District in Cincinnati in Hamilton County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Robert S. Duncanson

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009

1. Robert S. Duncanson Marker

Inscription. The first African American artist to achieve international acclaim, painter Robert S. Duncanson (1821-1872) was born in New York and settled in Cincinnati in 1840. He pursued his artistic career during a time of tremendous racial prejudice and was acknowledged as the "best landscape painter in the West." Arts patron Nicholas Longworth commissioned murals from Duncanson around 1850 for his home Belmont, now the Taft Museum of Art; these paintings are regarded as one of the finest pre-Civil War domestic decoration schemes in the United States. Sponsored by anti-slavery groups, he traveled widely during the 1860s in Europe. Duncanson rose above oppression to create expressions of African American cultural identity, leading the way for other people of color to pursue careers in the arts.

Erected 2003 by The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, Cinergy, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 35-31.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1840.

Location. 39° 6.125′ N, 84° 30.193′ W. Marker is in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Hamilton County. It is in the Central Business District. It is at the intersection of Pike Street and East 4th Street, on the left when traveling south on Pike Street. Marker is at the Taft Museum of Art. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 316 Pike Street, Cincinnati OH 45202, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and in the Ohio River Valley.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Taft Museum of Art (here, next to this marker); Corporal Merrill Laws Ricketts Marine Corps Memorial (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bottoms (about 500 feet away); Lytle Park (about 600 feet away); Famous Lytle Neighbors

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009

2. Robert S. Duncanson Marker

Taft Museum of Art in background and marker on right.

(about 600 feet away); A Beginning . . . (about 600 feet away); Fort Washington (about 600 feet away); The Taft Museum (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cincinnati.

Also see . . .
1. Robert Scott Duncanson. (Submitted on November 26, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. The Art of Robert S. Duncanson. (Submitted on November 26, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Taft Museum of Art image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009

3. Taft Museum of Art

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 26, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,820 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 26, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.