Born in Fayette, New York, Robert S. Duncanson was an African-American landscape painter. Robert was known for his Hudson River Valley style in his paintings (“Robert S. Duncanson”). Thomas Cole was known as the father of American landscape …show more content…
He is thought to have sought after a religious determination of subjection through salvation for Little Eva and for all slaves (Bogan). The time period that this was painted in was while slavery was still present.
The painting Uncle Tom and Little Eva is showcased at the Detroit Institute of Art in the
African American Art Department. The medium is oil on canvas. The work of art is small in real life; at two feet eight inches by three feet seven inches (“Uncle Tom and Little Eva”). The artwork itself contains a little white girl, Eva, and an African American man, Uncle Tom, which are the main characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Tom is sitting down and holding Eva’s hand while she’s pointing at something in the sky. They are in the garden of St.Clair villa on Lake Pontchartrain, near New Orleans (Cavallo, 21). In the book, Uncle Tom and his family are slaves. Tom saved Eva from drowning and Eva asked her father if they could buy him. He was Eva’s chauffeur and they became great friends over time. Eva then becomes very ill and eventually dies. Tom’s faith was also a great part in his hope to resolve slavery one day (“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”). Towards the left side of the painting, it’s much brighter and lighter colors were used, but on the right side, it’s darker and gloomy. The left side is where Eva is and Uncle Tom faces the right side. The author’s purpose for this is to show how the lightness describes the whites and the darkness symbolizes how African