Thomas Waterman Wood's Portrayal of Black Citizens During the Early Reconstruction Era

During his lifetime, Thomas Waterman Wood (1823-1903) was one of America’s most beloved genre painters. Since his death, very little has been published to document his career and great achievements. Although the exemplary production of his rural genre subjects is enough to demand further attention, an additional oversight is Wood’s unique treatment of African American subjects. Painting during the Reconstruction era when the discourse concerning black citizenship was at its height, Wood created a series of works which portrayed African Americans in a positive light, silently advocating for their rights as U. S. citizens. It is the intent of this thesis to demonstrate Wood’s sensitive portrayal of black citizen by studying both the symbolism and historical context of his paintings with black subjects, particularly his A Bit of War History series and American Citizens (To the Polls) . These paintings visually portray the core values that Americans held dearly and advocate for the people Wood considered to be truly “American.”