Brooklyn Museum - The Blessing - Harry Roseland - overall

Harry Herman Roseland (c. 1867–1950) was an American

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

in the early 20th century. He was known primarily for paintings centered on poor

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s. Roseland himself was white. Roseland was largely self-taught, and never traveled to Europe to study art, as did many of the American artists of his time. However, he did receive instruction from John Bernard Whittaker and later,

James Carroll Beckwith James Carroll Beckwith (September 23, 1852 – October 24, 1917) was an American landscape, portrait and genre painter whose Naturalist style led to his recognition in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth century as a respected figure i ...

. One of his most popular subjects were his paintings of black women

fortune tellers Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical wi ...

who read the palms and

tea leaves Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

of white women clients. These paintings were widely reproduced during the early 20th century in the form of

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

sets and large full-colour prints that were distributed as Sunday supplements in

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

s. While known most for his paintings of African Americans, his work encompassed many genres, including seascapes and portraits. He also gained renown for his paintings of laborers in the coastal areas of New England and New York and his many interior paintings. Roseland was born and lived his entire life in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He was a member of the

Salmagundi Club The Salmagundi Club, sometimes referred to as the Salmagundi Art Club, is a fine arts center founded in 1871 in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan, New York City. Since 1917, it has been located at 47 Fifth Avenue. , its membership roster ...

and the Brooklyn Society of Artists; in the latter organization he was a member of the executive board. After his death he was interred at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

in Brooklyn, New York.

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

has stated that her favorite painting in her personal collection is Roseland's 1904 work, ''To the Highest Bidder''. This painting, which unlike most of Roseland's pieces is a ''pre''-Civil War scene, depicts a mother and daughter who are about to be separated by a slave auction.

Awards

Roseland won many awards in his lifetime. These include gold medals from the Brooklyn Art Club (1888), the Boston Art Club (1904), and the American Art Society in Philadelphia (1907). The

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

awarded him the 1898 Second

Hallgarten Prize The Julius Hallgarten Prizes (defunct) were a trio of prestigious art prizes awarded by the National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samue ...

for ''An Important Letter''. Roseland received many other medals and awards as well.

References

External links

nytimes.com

askart.com

brooklynmuseum.org

Harry Roseland Paintings

Illustration by Harry Roseland in the Brazilian magazine Pelo mundo ... Online Archive @ Digital Collections of the Ibero-American Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roseland, Harry 1860s births 1950 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters People from Brooklyn Painters from New York City Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 20th-century American male artists