The Owens Art Gallery at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, is currently showcasing the final days of an exhibition highlighting the works of Edward Mitchell Bannister—an internationally acclaimed yet nationally forgotten Canadian painter. “Hidden Blackness,” curated by David Woods, marks the first major exhibition of Bannister’s art in Canada, more than 120 years after his death.
Born in Saint Andrews, NB, in 1828, Bannister experienced significant adversity from an early age, facing racial segregation, poverty, and harsh living conditions in an area known as “Slab Town.” During an online panel discussion held on March 26—attended by over 60 participants—Woods shared Bannister’s difficult beginnings:
“At age 16, his mother died. They grew up in a place colloquially referred to as Slab Town… segregated, abandoned spaces we were forced to live in back in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.”
Despite these obstacles, Bannister moved to the United States and became the first Black artist—and the first Canadian—to earn a significant North American art award, taking the bronze medal at Philadelphia’s Centennial Exhibition in 1876. His work was praised internationally, appearing in esteemed galleries worldwide, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Yet Bannister remained largely unknown in Canada. As Woods explained:
“He was in fact erased from Canadian history. So he was famous in the United States; when I first heard about Bannister as a young artist and began promoting his name, nobody in the arts community, whether it was art colleges, Nova Scotia College of Art, other artists, knew about him.”
Bannister’s serene landscapes and peaceful seascapes, deeply influenced by the French Barbizon school, embody a quiet yet profound beauty. His artwork features expressive brushwork and subtle color palettes, reflecting resilience and tranquility rooted in his early experiences in Saint Andrews.
The panel discussion moderated by Thandiwe McCarthy and hosted by Owens Art Gallery director Emily Falvey featured insights from prominent-in-the-field Atlantic Canadians, including Dr. Mary McCarthy-Brandt, Dr. Harvey Amani Whitfield, and artist Aleya Michaud. Michaud notably emphasized the importance of celebrating Black artists beyond identity-based narratives, while McCarthy urged contemporary creators to document and share their own stories to shape an inclusive history.
“Hidden Blackness” remains at the Owens Art Gallery until April 6. The exhibition will then travel to Charlottetown for the summer, before concluding in Halifax this fall.
The complete panel discussion is available online online here with Owens TV.
