Abraham Clark and His Children
1822
Artist, American, active 1822
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on wood
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 64.8 x 81.3 cm (25 1/2 x 32 in.)
framed: 80.6 x 94.9 x 6.9 cm (31 3/4 x 37 3/8 x 2 11/16 in.) -
Accession
1953.5.40
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Recorded as from New Jersey. Abraham Clark (life dates and city unknown). Edward and Cora Clark, Aldine, New Jersey.[1] Sold to (H. Gregory Gulick, Middletown, New Jersey), by whom sold in 1947 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1953.
[1] A handwritten note in the NGA curatorial files, apparently supplied to Gulik by Edward and Cora Clark, is headed "Aldine N.J. Nov 27/43." It states that the painting had been in the Clarks' house for about sixty years and that it was previously owned by Edward Clark's grandfather, Abraham Clark, "one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence." Because of the time span, Abraham Clark the signer (1726-1794) cannot have been Edward Clark's grandfather, though he may have been related in an earlier generation, nor, given the date inscribed on the back of the painting, could he be the man in the painting.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1954
American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part I, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1954, no. 47.
1955
American Primitive Pantings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955.
1968
The American Primitive Paintings Exhibit, organized by the Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California, for de Saisset Art Gallery, University of Santa Clara, 1968.
1988
A Little Bestiary: Naive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey, 1988, no catalogue.
Bibliography
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 62, repro.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 167, repro.
1992
Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 160-162, repro. 161.
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 190, repro.
Inscriptions
on reverse: April / 29.1822 / JH (in monogram)
Wikidata ID
Q20184665