Clementine Hunter
Uncle Tom in the Garden , 1968
Oil on Canvas Board
16 x 20
in
Clementine Hunter was born in the late 1880s on Hidden Hill Plantation in Louisiana which was a site long believed by local legend to have inspired the classic novel "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" due to its isolated and harsh conditions. Her paintings, including the recurring “Uncle Tom in the Garden,” are rooted in the stories, traditions, and landscapes of rural Black life she experienced firsthand. In these vivid garden scenes, Hunter blended elements of legend and memory, filling her compositions with colorful flowers (Zinnias - her personal favorite in the gardens of Melrose), local wildlife, and reimagined characters from Stowe’s novel alongside details drawn from her own community. Through her unique folk style and personal perspective, Hunter preserved the cultural history of her region and offered a meaningful glimpse into plantation life in the early twentieth century.
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