Bareback Riders

1886

W.H. Brown

Associated Names
W.H. Brown

Artist, American, active 1886/1887

This is a painting of a circus performance featuring a black horse galloping across an arena with two acrobats performing on its back. The horse is seen from the side, facing the right, its feet in the air and its mane blowing backward. Standing on the back of the horse is a man on one leg, his other leg bent behind him. He has a long brown mustache and wears a gold outfit with bright red tights. Standing on his bent knee is a woman who also has one leg raised and bent backwards. She has blonde hair adorned with a flower and wears a blue bodice with a puffy white tutu and a gold belt. In the bottom left corner, a clown in a colorful costume with frills and dots looks at the performers, hands outstretched. On the right, in the background, a ringmaster with a long black mustache stands with a long whip, wearing a black suit over a white shirt with a bowtie. All of these people have light skin, although the face of the clown is painted white with red stripes. In the background, small dots suggest a blurred audience in several rows, extending backwards into a light blue haze. Red and blue banners hang above the scene, along with tassels in red, white, and blue.
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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Recorded as from Michigan. Purchased in 1949 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1958.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1954

  • American Primitive Painting, traveling exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Inst. for the U.S. Information Service, Washington, 1954-1955, no. 85. First venue: Kunstmuseum, Lucerne, Switzerland.

1957

  • American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part II, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1957, no. 106.

1964

  • De Lusthof der Naieven, Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 1964, no. 47.

1968

  • American Naive Painting of the 18th and 19th Centuries: 111 Masterpieces from the Collection of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, traveling exhibition by Amer. Fed. of Arts, New York, 1968-1970, no. 110. First venue: Grand Palais, Paris.

1970

  • American Naive Painting of the 18th and 19th Centuries: Masterpieces from the Collection of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, organized by the Amer. Fed. of Arts, N.Y., and Mainichi News., Nihobashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, 1970, no catalogue.

1973

  • American Primitive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Holland Union, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1973, exhibition guide (copy not located).

1974

  • Die Kunst der Naiven-Themen und Beziehungen, Haus der Kunst, Munich; Kunsthaus, Zurich, 1974-1975, no. 34.

1978

  • The American Folk Art Tradition: Paintings from the Garbisch Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978.

1981

  • Center Ring: The Artist - Two Centuries of Circus Art, Milwaukee Art Museum; Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; New York State Museum, Albany; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 1981-1982, no. 18, color repro.

1985

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, traveling exhibition by the Intern'l. Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, 1985-1987, no. 12, color repro. First venue: Museum of American Folk Art, New York.

1988

  • A Little Bestiary: Naive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey, 1988, no catalogue.

  • La Nascita di Una Nazione: Pittori americani dalla National Gallery of Art di Washington 1730-1880, Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, Bologna; Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna di Ca'Pesaro, Venice, 1988-1989, no. 12, repro.

1993

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 1993-1994.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, Georgia, 1993.

1994

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Heckscher Museum, Huntington, New York, 1994.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Louisiana Arts and Science Center, Baton Rouge, 1994-1995.

1995

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Pensacola Museum of Art, Florida, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Boise Art Museum, Idaho, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), McKissick Museum, Columbia, South Carolina, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), St. John's Museum of Art, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1995-1996.

1996

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1996.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainseville, 1996-1997.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California, 1996.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Maier Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1996.

1997

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, 1997.

1998

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1998.

Bibliography

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 20, repro.

1971

  • Bihalji-Merin, Oto. Masters of Naive Art. New York, 1971: 53, color pl. 40.

1978

  • King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 98-99, pl. 61.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 30, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 543, no. 817, color 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: 32-34, repro. 33.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 35, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: WHBrown / 86

Wikidata ID

Q20189806

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