---
title: An Ever-Changing ‘Landscape’
date: 2021-09-09T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/an-ever-changing-landscape"
section: Articles
---
# An Ever-Changing ‘Landscape’

*September 9, 2021* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10)


> Exhibition Highlights Overlooked Black Artists in American Artistic Tradition

*Untitled Urban Scene 1920x1080 — This piece by Hughie Lee-Smith, “Untitled (Urban Scene),” is one of 73 works on display in “American Landscapes,” a new exhibit opening today at the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora.*

Towering trees, rushing water, craggy peaks breaking through clouds: Landscapes have long been central to the American artistic tradition, depicting terrain from the forested hills of the Northeast to the vast open fields of the West.

Since its emergence as a major field in the 19<sup>th</sup>century, American landscape painting has been assumed to be largely the domain of white artists. But in “American Landscapes,” a new exhibit opening today at the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora, visitors are presented with a wider perspective that centers the work of African American artists in the genre.

“To our knowledge, there was never an exhibition of landscapes by African American artists,” said Dorit Yaron, deputy director of the Driskell Center. “A goal (of the exhibition) is to show that African American artists created landscape works and participated in that conversation the same as white artists.”

The exhibition of 73 works spans from 1850 to 2020; roughly two-thirds are by Black artists, while most of the rest are by white artists, to compare and contrast. Presented in chronological order, the exhibition begins with works produced and influenced by Hudson River School artists—peaceful, pastoral scenes of nature. Later works incorporate new themes; some are politically resonant, depicting the relationship enslaved people had to the land, while more modern pieces lean toward the abstract or focus on smaller-scale scenes, like the details of one tree instead of a forest.

Yaron hopes that visitors will learn about an often-neglected aspect of African American art history. “There was always the expectation from African American artists to create art that deals with identity, or political and social issues, which was very common for African Americans to do during the civil rights movement, but it doesn’t mean that was the only thing that they did,” she said.

See the gallery below to read more about a few of the works on display.



*“Landscape with Two People Walking,” Edward Mitchell Bannister, oil on canvas, 1889.*



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*“Along the Harlem River,” Malvin Gray Johnson, oil on canvas board, 1925.*



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*“Untitled (Urban Scene),” Hughie Lee-Smith, oil on masonite, 1955.*



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*“Untitled,” Stephanie Pogue, etching, 1968.*



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*“Atascadero,” Richard Mayhew, serigraph, 2013.*



**Sidebar note:**

A virtual opening reception for the exhibit will be held [tonight](https://driskellcenter.umd.edu/events/american-landscapes-opening-reception). Visitors can see the exhibit in person at the Driskell Center now through Nov. 19.





**Topics:** [Arts &amp; Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture)


**Tags:** [Visual Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/visual-arts)


**Units:** [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities)