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Artist John George Brown American, born Great Britain, 1831–1913

Datecirca 1881

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions23 1/8 x 15 1/4 in. (58.7 x 38.7 cm)
Frame: 31 x 22 7/8 x 3 3/4 in. (78.7 x 58.1 x 9.5 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGiven in memory of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Ellisberg by their children

Object numberG.65.22.1

On View

On view

Provenance**Created New York, ca. 1881; collection of the artist. William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951); [Hammer Galleries, New York]; E. J. Ellisberg, Raleigh, NC; bequeathed to children, Dr. and Mrs. Leroy Robins, Washington, D.C., and Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer Ellisberg, Raleigh; given to NCMA, 1965.
Published References"Accessions of American and Canadian Museums," Art Quarterly 28 (1965), listed 314.

American Paintings to 1900: Catalogue of Paintings, Vol 1, 2nd ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1966), no. 8, illus. (b-w).

"La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts 67 (February 1966), listed no. 248, illus. (b-w).

"Acquisitions," North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 7 (1967/68?), noted 4, listed 65, illus. (b-w) fig. 7.

Lois Marie Fink and Joshua C. Taylor, Academy: The Academic Tradition in American Art (exhibition catalogue) (Washington, DC: National Collection of Fine Arts, 1975), cat. no. 64, illus. (b-w).

American Paintings from the Permanent Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art (exhibition catalogue) (Asheville: Asheville Art Museum, 1976), listed (with artist's bio.) 5, illus. (b-w) 5.

Martha J. Hoppin, Country Paths and City Sidewalks: The Art of J. G. Brown (exhibition catalogue) (Springfield, MA: George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, 1989), discussed 22-23, illus. (b-w) fig. 18.

Gabriel P. Weisberg, Redefining Genre: French and American Painting, 1850-1900 (exhibition catalogue) (Washington, DC: The Trust for Museum Exhibitions, 1995), cat. no. 19, illus. (color) 86, discussed 87.

John Coffey, "From the Permanent Collection - The Presentable Poor: Images of Children," Preview: The Magazine of the North Carolina Museum of Art (March/April 2002), briefly discussed 11, illus. (color).

Leo G. Mazow, "Taxing Visions and the 'Decent Distance'," in Taxing Visions: Financial Episodes in Late Nineteenth-Century American Art (exhibition catalogue), (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University and the Huntington Library, 2010), briefly discussed 12-13, 44, illus. (color) 13, fig. 8 (catalogue only, not in exhibition).

Martha Hoppin, The World of J. G. Brown (Chesterfield, MA: Chameleon Books, 2010), discussed 153-154, mentioned 172, 181, illus. (color) 155.

Leo G. Mazow, "Taxing Visions and the 'Decent Distance'," in Taxing Visions: Financial Episodes in Late Nineteenth-Century American Art (exhibition catalogue), (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University and the Huntington Library, 2010), cat. no. 5, discussed 12-13, illus. (color) 13, fig. 8.

Judith H. Dobrzynski, “American Portraits of Hard Times,” Wall Street Journal online version, October 22, 2010, mentioned.

Exhibition HistoryWashington, DC, National Collection of Fine Arts, "Academy: The Academic Tradition in American Art," June 6-September 1, 1975, cat. no. 64, illus. (b-w).

Asheville, NC, Asheville Art Museum, "American Paintings from the Permanent Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art," May 16-June 27, 1976, listed (with artist's bio.) 5, illus. (b-w) 5.

Springfield, MA, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, "Country Paths and City Sidewalks: The Art of J. G. Brown," March 19-May 21, 1989; New York, NY, National Academy of Design, July 10-September 10, 1989; Omaha, NE, Joslyn Art Museum, October 13-December 3, 1989, cat. no. 5, illus. (b-w) fig. 18.

Memphis, TN, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, "Redefining Genre: French and American Painting, 1850-1900," September 24-December 17, 1995; Palm Beach, FL, Society of the Four Arts, January 5-February 3, 1996; Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, February 24-April 21, 1996; Washington, DC, Meridian International Center, May 15-July 1, 1996, cat. no. 19, illus. (color) 86, discussed 87.

Wilmington, NC, Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, "18th and 19th Century American Art from the Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art," June 20, 2003-February 22, 2004.

University Park, PA, Palmer Museum of Art of the Pennsylvania State University, "Taxing Visions: Financial Episodes in Late Nineteenth-Century American Painting," September 28-December 19, 2010; San Marino, CA, The Huntington Library and Art Collections, January 29-May 30, 2011, cat. no. 5.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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