It Did Matter If You Were Black or White

America has been described as a nation founded for the people by the people. Critics argue that it was founded by and for white male Europeans. So which one is it? By viewing this exhibition, it shall become quite clear that this country was not founded by and for all the people. Indeed, African Americans did not found this nation nor was it founded for their benefit. Their white counterparts founded it on their backs. And unfortunately, they are still looked down upon today. By whites castigating them as black or even by stereotyping themselves, it does still matter today if you are black or white. The following exhibition will show American art’s progressive portrayal of blacks as an inferior race.

In 1710, Justus Engelhardt Kuhn painted Henry Darnall III as a Child. In this painting a young white boy along with his black child slave stands on a balcony overlooking his estate’s elaborate gardens. The slave stands behind his master, holding a dead bird that the master has just killed after a hunt. The slave is not placed directly on the balcony with his master but behind the ledge so that he can not come too close to the white boy. This indicated a clear distinction between the two races. And to further subjugate the slave, he is given a facial expression tantamount to adoration of his master. He is not a person but rather like a puppy. One can treat a puppy however they want since animals have no feeling. (This is before PETA.) Despicably, black slaves were treated far worse than the house pet. Blacks were not given the human status that they were.

In John Trumbull’s The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunkers Hill (1786), a black slave is painted behind his master. By placing the slave in the bottom right corner, Trumbull marginalizes his significance in order that the hypocrisy of fighting for freedom while enslaving blacks is not raised. And while the black still fights as a loyal slave, a look of uncertainty is given to him. This confusion makes the white man wonder how long the slave will remain loyal, as the whites demanded, before fleeing to save his own ‘inferior’ life. To add to the whites’ fears, the black man shields his own body behind his master so that he will be safer from harms way rather than protecting the white man.

Richard Caton Woodville portrays a difference between blacks and whites regarding worldly affairs in War News from Mexico (1848). While the more cultured white men discuss the latest news, the black man and child, both of whom are placed on a lower level spatially, look on indifferently. Dressed in rags, they listen to find out what all the commotion is about. But the lack of intensity in their eyes in comparison with the white men’s portrays their interest as curiosity rather than intellectual pursuit. By placing them closer to the ground and in the corner of the painting, they are given status an inferior status. The blacks are unworldly ignorant animals sitting idly at the side.

Although African American himself, Robert S. Duncanson promotes an inferior image of blacks in Uncle Tom and Little Eva (1853). The little white girl patronizes the older black man. She is his enlightenment because of his ignorance. She leads him to salvation. Their age gap distinctly highlights the notion of white supremacy. Maybe if they were closer in age, the black man would not seem so inferior. It is no wonder then that the term Uncle Tom is considered derogatory.

In 1859, Eastman Johnson painted Negro Life in the South. By not condemning slavery or approving of it, he allowed for multiple interpretations of his painting. But all interpretation led to a negative conclusion about blacks. The white woman from the master’s house curiously peeks at the black slaves who pass the time in calm relaxation. By painting the slaves as relaxing, they seem to be neglecting their duties in laziness. And because of this serenity they seem to be accepting of their unlivable living conditions. This painting stereotypes blacks as lazy and tricks the viewer to accept the distressing housing arrangements in correspondence with the inhabitants.

In Emanuel Leutze’s Westward Ho! (1861), a black man leads a white woman with her child on a mule. The black man is placed in this position to suggest a new freedom for blacks in the West. However, it is only through his service to the whites that he can get there, While there may be hope for freedom, blacks have still not attained it as slavery is seen as an essential part of the process.

Winslow Homer’s The Bright Side (1865) further stereotypes blacks as lazy. This painting