Provenance

Sir Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon

Abernon, Edgar Vincent d' 16th Bt., 1st Viscount D'Abernon Sir
D'Abernon, Edgar Vincent 16th Bt., 1st Viscount D'Abernon Sir

1857 - 1941

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A river winds through forest-green trees and vegetation between rolling hills and mountains extending into the deep distance under a pale, orchid-purple sky in this nearly square landscape painting. Loose brushstrokes give this work a soft, hazy look. Closest to us, at the bottom center of the painting, dense foliage is created with touches of sage and pine green against a peanut-brown ground. Small in scale within the landscape, one person on horseback, two people on foot, and perhaps a dog cross an arched bridge spanning a narrow stream to our left of center. To our right of the bridge, a few round forms could be sheep or perhaps more indistinct plants. Nearby, a house is surrounded by tall trees at the base of a cliff that rises precipitously along the right edge of the canvas, and nearly reaches the top. At the center of the composition, the topaz-blue river widens as it winds into the distance beyond the bridge. Forests of dark green trees line the river along a mauve-pink mountain peak to our left. The trees, river, and more mountains become more indistinct farther in the distance. The horizon line comes just over halfway up the composition, and the sky is streaked with pale butter yellow over the mountain to our left, under pale purple clouds or haze above.
Thomas Gainsborough, Mountain Landscape with Bridge, c. 1783/1784, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.107

Mountain Landscape with Bridge

Thomas Gainsborough · c. 1783/1784 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1937.1.107

A woman holding a baby, who stands on her lap, is flanked by two men in a deep landscape in this horizontal painting. At the center of the composition, the woman sits behind a stone ledge. Her pale-skinned, oval face tips to our left, and she looks down and to our right with brown eyes. She has a long, straight nose, round cheeks, a slight double chin, and her pale lips are closed. A white cloth drapes over a translucent veil that covers her forehead. Her indigo-colored dress is edged with gold writing and ornamental designs against a red and black background. A parchment-brown cloth is tied as a belt under her bust. The nude child with notably pale skin stands on one of her knees, and she holds his other foot with one hand. Her other hand braces his chest, and he holds onto that thumb. His other hand is held up with the thumb and first two fingers raised toward the man to our left, at whom he looks. A halo, drawn as a thin gold line, encircles his blond curls. He has chubby cheeks and thighs but looks seriously at the man to our left. Both men have tanned skin, and they face inward, almost in profile. They are shown from about the hips up on the far side of the stone ledge. The man to our left is balding with a long, white beard. Wrinkles line his forehead and cheeks. He looks off to our right with shadowed eyes, and he has a hooked nose. He wears a tan garment under an ultramarine-blue cloak, which drops from one shoulder and wraps around his hips. He holds one hand to his chest and the other palm up. To our right, the second man looks to our left with deep-set eyes. He has high cheekbones, a straight nose, and his lips are parted. Copper-brown hair falls in shaggy curls to his shoulders, and he has a full, red beard. His hands are together in prayer in front of his chest, and a tall thin stick with a narrow crossbeam to make a cross is tucked into one elbow. His voluminous, carnation-pink robe almost covers a brown, shaggy garment beneath. Beyond the group, rocky cliffs lead back to a castle-like structure to our left and grassy, tree-dotted hills roll into the distance to our right. Pale gray and white clouds drift across a violet-purple and blue-streaked sky across the top quarter of the composition. The artist signed the work as if he had carved into the stone ledge in front of Mary: “IOANNES BAPTISTA PINXIT.”
Cima da Conegliano, Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist, c. 1492/1495, oil on poplar panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.33

Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist

Cima da Conegliano · c. 1492/1495 · oil on poplar panel ·  Accession ID  1937.1.33

This painting is a portrait of a man standing upright, his chest facing us and his head turned to the left. A horse is positioned directly behind him, and his left arm is lifted, resting on the horse's back. The man has fair skin and wavy gray hair that curls around his ears and seems to be tied behind his neck. He has a slightly flushed complexion, a long nose, pale eyebrows, and lips that seem to be partially open. He wears a formal military uniform, including a brown coat adorned with silver braiding, a brown vest, a pink sash tied at his waist, tan trousers, and tall black boots. He holds a black hat in his right hand. The horse is brown, with its rear visible on the right and its head on the left. The background shows a wooded landscape with dark brown trees and a cloudy red sky.
Sir Henry Raeburn, Captain Patrick Miller, 1788/1789, altered later (date unknown), oil on canvas, Gift of Pauline Sabin Davis, 1948.19.1

Captain Patrick Miller

Sir Henry Raeburn · 1788/1789, altered later (date unknown) · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1948.19.1