Supported by Carteaux, Bannister became a full-time painter from 1870 on, shortly after they moved to Providence, Rhode Island, at the end of 1869. He first took a studio in the Mercantile National Bank Building and eventually moved his studio to the Woods Building in Providence, where he shared a floor with artists like Sydney Burleigh and became friends with Providence painter George William Whitaker. Over time, he painted more landscapes; he received an 1872 award at the Rhode Island Industrial Exposition for "Summer Afternoon" and began submitting paintings to the Boston Art Club.