First Landing of Christopher Columbus

1800/1805

Frederick Kemmelmeyer

Artist, American, active 1788/1816

Seven light-skinned men stand closely together at the edge of a body of water across from a group of about a dozen indigenous people with brown skin gathered in the near distance in this horizontal painting. To our left, five of the white men wear tall black hats with blue and pink feathers. In shades of royal blue, parchment white, pine green, or brick red, their caped suits have slashes across the chest, shoulders, and upper thighs. Some hold or wear swords, and most have knee-high, olive-green boots. At the back of the group, a hatless, balding man wears a long brown robe with a rosary and cross hanging from his waist. He holds a tall wooden cross, and the others carry spear-like halberds, a rifle, or a white banner. The man at the front of the group holds a sword down by one side and gestures toward the group of brown-skinned people with his other hand. Two rowboats filled with similarly dressed men approach their position on the left side. Three wooden ships lie in the water beyond the men. The indigenous men, women, and children wear off-white or red loincloths, along with earrings, necklaces, armbands, and anklets. Many have feathers in their dark hair. One person at the front of that group kneels and points toward the water with one hand as he holds out a pineapple with the other. The two groups are separated by a jewel-blue waterway that runs between them. More beach and hazy blue mountains in the deep distance curve toward the center of the composition. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower left, though the inscription is now incomplete. It reads, “eyer Pin t th January 180.” In the lower right, and inscription reads, “First Landing of C.R COLUMBUS at the Island St SALVADOR South AMERICA the 11th October.”

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Recorded as from Maryland. (The Old Print Shop, New York); sold 1948 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift 1966 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1957

  • American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part II, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1957, no. 37.

1958

  • American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Springfield Art Museum, Missouri, 1958, no cat.

1962

  • Exhibition of Early American Art, Academy of the Arts, Talbot County Historical Society, Easton, Maryland, 1962, no. 9.

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.

1972

  • American Primitive Painting, South Texas Artmobile, Corpus Christi, traveling exhibition by the International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, 1972-1973, no cat.

1973

  • Extended loan for use by Justice William H. Rehnquist, The Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1973-1976.

1976

  • In This Academy: The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1805-1976, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1976, no. 138, repro. 103.

1981

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, 1981-1982, no. 37 (cat. by Ronald McKnight Melvin).

1985

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, traveling exh. by the International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, 1985-1987, no. 42, color repro. First venue: Museum of American Folk Art, New York.

1988

  • 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. 42, repro.

1993

  • Extended loan for use by Ambassador James Blanchard, U.S. Embassy residence, Ottawa, Canada, 1993-1995.

1997

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, South Texas Institute for the Arts, Corpus Christi, 1997.

  • Washington County Artists, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1997-1998, no cat.

Bibliography

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 76, repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 186, repro.

1984

  • Adams, E. Bryding. "Frederick Kemmelmeyer, Maryland Itinerant Artist." Antiques 125 (January 1984): color pl. 2.

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: 239-241, color repro. 240.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 217, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: [Kemmelm]eyer Pin[xi]t th[e] [] January 180[]; lower right: First Landing of / C.R COLUMBUS at the / Ifland St SALVADOR South / AMERICA the 11th October

Wikidata ID

Q20180636

You may be interested in

Loading Results