Rising Mist

In this jewel-like painting, the artist captured the dramatic natural beauty of the mists rising off a hillside with delicate details and feathery brushstrokes.

During the Civil War, Black people in Cincinnati, like Duncanson, lived a risky existence. In 1862, he departed for safer ground, traveling through Minnesota and Canada. Duncanson journeyed to the British Isles in 1865. During the trip, he toured the Scottish Highlands where the scenery profoundly affected him.

The Scottish countryside reaffirmed Duncanson’s love for British Romantic writers such as Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) and Thomas Moore (1779–1852), and his sketches resulted in several paintings based on these literary inspirations. Duncanson returned to Cincinnati in about 1866. Upon his homecoming, the artist opened a new studio on Fourth Street and was almost immediately swamped with patrons eager to buy his new Scottish literary paintings. The popularity of these paintings encouraged him to satisfy demand with much smaller Scottish views of picturesque sites, such as "The Rising Mist."