One of the gifts given to President Biden by members of Congress on Wednesday was an “optimistic” Civil War-era painting by a black landscape artist.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and first lady Jill Biden presented Robert S. Duncanson’s 1859 work “Landscape With Rainbow” during the inaugural gift-giving ceremony.
“For a black artist, painting this painting that’s so much like an American utopia on the verge of a war that we would fight over slavery, makes all of that even more interesting,” Blunt noted.
“While he faced lots of challenges, obviously [he] was optimistic, even in 1859, about America.”
The work was on loan from Smithsonian American Art Museum, which describes Cincinnati-based painter Duncanson as the “best known African American painter in the years surrounding the Civil War.”
President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden presented the painting from Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) as Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff look on in the US Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021. Getty ImagesThe first lady hand-picked the painting, depicting a lush green landscape with people and cows and a rainbow overhead, symbolizing renewal and hope.
“I like the rainbow — good things to follow,” she told the crowd.
“Let’s hope!” Blunt responded.
Normally, a painting such as this one would be on view during the traditional congressional luncheon that follows the inauguration.
However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the luncheon was scrapped in favor of the gift-giving ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.
Leaders of Congress presented Biden, 78, and Vice President Kamala Harris with vases, flags and photos during the event.
