Landscape with Rainbow
Completed in 1859, Landscape with Rainbow is one of painter Robert S. Duncanson’s most famous works. Poetic, pastoral, and bathed in ethereal light, the piece showcases some of Duncanson’s signature motifs inspired by European Romanticism and the Old Masters. The Smithsonian interprets the painting as a symbol of “a late hope for peace before the onset of Civil War,” the elm alluding to liberty and the rainbow to hope.
Landscape with Rainbow recently returned to the spotlight when this deeply symbolic, pastoral scene was chosen as the official inaugural painting, the first gift offered to President Biden following his inauguration. Senator Roy Blunt presented the President and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden—who selected the artwork herself—with the particularly poignant piece, on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It brought with it an air of renewal, reinforcing a sense of hope and promise that’s been stirring since election day.
