Robert S. Duncanson was a 19th-century African American landscape painter known for luminous, idealized scenes that combined Romanticism with detailed observation of nature. His work embedded abolitionist ideals, visions of freedom, and dignity within depictions of the natural world.

We centered Duncanson's landscapes in our studio card deck because his work asks the questions we ask: What would people miss if this didn't exist?

His color palette illuminates warm, calm, and free. It reminds us that the best work doesn't follow the rules. It reimagines them.