At the Writing Table, c. 1790

Not on View

Medium

aqueous medium on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 101.5 x 134.5 cm (39 15/16 x 52 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

Accession Number

1953.5.75

Artists / Makers

American 18th Century (artist)

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Provenance

Recorded as from Maine. (John K. Byard, Norwalk, Connecticut)[1], by whom sold in 1949 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1953.

[1] A typewritten note from Byard of 17 May 1949 (in NGA curatorial file) states that the unnamed man from whom he purchased the painting had bought it from Andrew Hawes, who was somehow associated with the Quinby family in Stroudwater (near Portland) Maine. According to Byard, the unnamed man claimed that the painting had served as a fireboard in the Quinby house, which was located in either Portland or Stroudwater. Fireboards, usually constructed of wood, stood in front of fireplaces in the summer months.

Associated Names

Byard, John Kenneth
Garbisch, Edgar William, Mr. and Mrs.
Unknown Patron

Exhibition History

1962: Exhibition of Early American Art, Academy of the Arts, Talbot County Historical Society, Easton, Maryland, 1962, no. 29.

Bibliography

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 388, 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: 408-410, repro. 409.