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Charles C. Hofmann

Berks County Almshouse, 1878, 1878

West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 63

Medium

oil on zinc

Dimensions

overall: 82.5 x 99.6 cm (32 1/2 x 39 3/16 in.)

framed: 97 x 114 x 5.7 cm (38 3/16 x 44 7/8 x 2 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

Accession Number

1953.5.17

Artists / Makers

Charles C. Hofmann (artist) American, c. 1820 - 1882

Image Use

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

Overview

Information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication American Naive Paintings, pages 204-205, which is available as a free PDF https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/American%20Naive%20Painting.pdf

Inscription

lower right: 1878-Charles Hofman [sic], Painter.; upper center, on banner: VIRTUE, LIBERTY & INDEPENDENCE!; upper center, just above banner: PENSYLVANIA; lower center: VIEWS OF THE BUILDINGS & SURROUNDINGS / OF THE BERKS-COUNTY-ALMS-HOUSE. 1878.; along bottom of small scenes, clockwise beginning at lower left: Tenant-house No. II.; School-house.; Cemetery; Tenant hous [sic] No. I.; Western-View of the new Hospital.; Tenant-house No. III.; Kitchen-supplying spring, & Reservoir:; Grein barn:

Provenance

Jacob Hartgen, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1878-1925.[1] (Bert Frame, Reading, Pennsylvania), by whom sold in 1947 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1953.

[1] The artist was on several occasions during the 1870's a tenant of the almshouse depicted in this painting. Bert Frame, in a letter of 19 May 1947 to Edgar Garbisch (in NGA curatorial file), wrote of Hofmann that "It was his wont, on visiting days, to approach visitors, and beg a few pennies to `help put something in his bottle', for which he `will paint for you, a pretty picture.' Jacob Hartgen [1843-1925] was the baker there, at this time, and he probably contributed his bit, many times, as he not only obtained the picture which you have, but two religious pictures, and a portrait of Mr. Hartgen's wife...(all painted on tin)."

Associated Names

Frame, Bert
Garbisch, Edgar William, Mr. and Mrs.
Hartgen, Jacob

Exhibition History

1950: American Processional, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 1950, no. 281.

1961: 101 Masterpieces of American Primitive Painting from the Collection of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, traveling exh. by the Amer. Federation of Arts, New York, 1961-1964, no. 99, color repro. First venue: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.

1967: National Gallery Loan Exhibition, Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1967, no. 15.

1968: Pennsylvania Almshouse Painters--Charles Hofmann, John Rasmussen and Louis Mader, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, 1968, unpaginated and unnumbered (cat. by Thomas Armstrong).

1971: Twenty-five Folk Artists: Their Lives and Work, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1971, no cat.

2010: American Naive Paintings from the Garbisch Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia, 2010, no cat.

Bibliography

1970: American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 68, repro.

1972: Rothman, David J. "Our Brothers' Keepers." American Heritage 24 (December): 40-41, color repro. with long caption.

1980: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 176, repro.

1980: Armstrong, Thomas. "Charles C. Hofman." In Lipman, Jean, and Tom Armstrong, eds. American Folk Painters of Three Centuries Exh. cat. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1980: 103, 106, 108, 109 (for related Almshouse works).

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: 204-205, color repro. 203.

1996: Donahue, M. Patricia. Nursing, The Finest Art: An Illustrated History. St Louis, 1996: 226-227, color repro.