Calla Lily

Artist George Cochran Lambdin American, 1830–1896

Date1874

MediumOil on wood panel

Dimensions20 × 11 3/4 in. (50.8 × 29.8 cm)
Frame: 31 5/8 × 23 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (80.3 × 59.7 × 10.8 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Ann and Jim Goodnight

Object number2018.9.2

On View

On view

Label TextGeorge Lambdin’s Calla Lily, with its single, brightly illuminated flower, is all about refinement and the pleasures of quiet contemplation. Native to southern Africa, calla lilies were introduced into American gardens in the mid-nineteenth century. As symbols of purity and innocence, they were a favorite at weddings and funerals.

A prolific flower painter, Lambdin constructed his own greenhouse, which produced many of the blooms he depicted. His composition in Calla Lily draws inspiration from Japanese paintings of flowers against a black lacquer background.
[L. Applebaum, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]Provenance**Created United States, 1874; collection of the artist, Germantown, PA; sold to Louis Prang [L. Prang & Co., Boston], ca. 1874; [Prang sale, American Art Association, New York February 16–18, 1892, no. 256] [1]; private collection, Argentina; [William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, RI]; [Michael Altman Fine Art and Advisory, New York]; [Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, PA, 2017]; [Betty Krulik Fine Art Ltd., New York, 2018]; sold to NCMA, 2018 [2].

[1] “Catalogue of an Unusual Collection of Water-color and Oil Paintings Purchased from Time to Time for Reproduction by L. Prang & Company,”
as Calla Lily, 19 ½ x 11 ½ in.
[2] Purchased with funds provided by Ann and Jim Goodnight.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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