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In the forest, a man is seated in front of an easel, painting a landscape.

A man is seated in a small folding stool in front of an easel. He is wearing brown pants, and a beige jacket and hat. He has brown hair and a thick brown beard. His back and left shoulder is to the viewer, and he is facing towards the left side of the image. He is holding a palette in his left hand. A landscape scene, painted in light blues and greens, is vaguely visible on his canvas. He is surrounded by a dense thicket of trees, which is painted gesturally in many shades of brown and dark green.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2008.15
People
William Sidney Mount, American (Setauket, NY 1807 - 1868 Setauket, NY)
Title
The Artist Sketching
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
c. 1855
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/323715

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Oil on artist's board
Dimensions
23.5 x 16.5 cm (9 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.)
framed: 59.1 x 52.1 cm (23 1/4 x 20 1/2 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • stamp: Stamps: two stamps in black on verso of composite board: "K PHOTO"
  • inscription: Inscription: in pencil on verso "property of Victor + Nina Sparks" CA5469
  • label: Sticker: No.56843 PICTURE

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Victor Spark, New York; Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth, New York, c. 1960s-1980; Coe Kerr Gallery, New York; Sarah Mleczko Fine Art, New York; private collection, 1994-2001; Sotheby's, New York, May 24, 2001, "American Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture," New York, lot 99; Richard Manoogian Collection, Detroit, 2001-2007; Michael Altman Fine Art, New York, 2007-2008.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Daniel A. Pollack, Class of 1960, American Art Acquisition Fund
Accession Year
2008
Object Number
2008.15
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum, Intimate American Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth, exh. cat. (Rockland, Maine, 1960), cat. 3
  • Coe Kerr Gallery, Inc., The American Painting Collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth, exh. cat. (New York, 1970), p. 49, cat. 82
  • Margaret V. Wall, The Mount Brothers: An Exhibition, exh. cat. (Stony Brook, Long Island, 1974), cat. 94
  • Alfred V. Frankenstein, William Sidney Mount (New York, 1975), p. 324, pl. 122
  • American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, auct. cat. (New York, NY, 2001), lot. 99
  • Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr. and Melissa Renn, American Paintings at Harvard, Volume One: Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels by Artists Born before 1826, Yale University Press (U.S.) and Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge and New Haven, 2014), pp. 351-52, cat. 317, ill.

Exhibition History

  • The Mount Brothers: An Exhibition, The Suffolk Museum at Stony Brook, 08/23/1947 - 09/28/1947
  • Intimate American Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth, William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum, 08/04/1960 - 09/04/1960
  • The American Paintings Collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth: An Exhibition for the Benefit of the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, Coe Kerr Gallery, Inc., 11/10/1970 - 11/28/1970

Subjects and Contexts

  • Collection Highlights
  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu