The Taft Museum of Art opened “Beyond the Picturesque: The American Landscape as a Site of Memory, Identity, and Continuity” on April 11, 2026, presenting seven figural paintings by Ayana Ross as part of the museum’s Duncanson Artist-in-Residence Program. The exhibition runs through July 26, 2026 in the Sinton Gallery and Duncanson Foyer in Cincinnati.

Ross, an American painter born in 1977, is known for emotionally resonant portraiture and narrative storytelling that centers the complexity of Black life. Her work draws on personal experience to explore intergenerational themes, current events, and cultural conversations. “Often drawing on her own experiences, her work explores intergenerational themes, current events, and cultural conversations shaping our world,” the museum said in an exhibition description. The seven paintings in the Taft presentation reflect everyday moments that carry deeper historical and social meaning.

The Taft’s selection of Ross as the 2026 artist-in-residence coincides with two major institutional milestones: the 175th anniversary of landscape murals painted by Robert S. Duncanson for the historic Taft house in 1851, and the 40th anniversary of the Duncanson Artist-in-Residence Program itself. The program, one of the longest-running residencies in the United States dedicated to community engagement and artists of color, has brought artists to Cincinnati each year since its founding. The Taft Museum of Art is located at 316 Pike St. in Cincinnati; admission is free on Sundays.

Source: Taft Museum of Art