The Prodigal Son Reclaimed

c. 1815

Mary Ann Willson

Associated Names
Mary Ann Willson

Artist, American, active 1810/1825

The image shows a group of people in a stylized drawing. In the foreground, two figures are prominently featured, with one person kneeling while the other stands. The kneeling person is depicted in profile, wearing a brown jacket, light-colored pants, and black shoes, while the standing figure wears a large brown coat with light blue pants and is extending an arm toward the kneeling individual. Both figures have simplified facial features and gray hair, with the standing person donning a black hat. In the background, additional figures are present, displaying simplified faces and wearing various headgear, including hats and a turban. They are dressed in brightly colored clothes. The background displays abstract shapes in striking orange against a white and blue sky. In the far left, a small, unclothed figure resembling a cherub is depicted holding a heart in a decorative setting. Some handwritten text is present at the bottom of the image.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and black ink and watercolor

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

  • Dimensions

    image: 31.8 x 25.4 cm (12 1/2 x 10 in.)
    sheet: 39.7 x 33.3 cm (15 5/8 x 13 1/8 in.)
    framed: 49.4 x 42.2 x 3 cm (19 7/16 x 16 5/8 x 1 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1966.13.23


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1974

  • The Flowering of American Folk Art 1776-1876, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; The M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, 1974, no. 103, color repro. (cat. by Jean Lipman and Alice Winchester).

1998

  • Mary Ann Willson: Artist Maid, American Folk Art Museum, New York, 1998, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1966

  • 101 Primitive Watercolors and Pastels, from the Collection of Edgar William Garbisch and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1966: 39.

1968

  • Hollander, Stacy. "Mary Ann Willson, Artist Maid." Folk Art: Magazine of the Museum of American Folk Art vol. 23, no. 2 (1998): repro. 22.

1999

  • Mittler, Gene A., and Rosalind Ragans. Exploring Art. New York, 1999: 9, fig. 1-9.

Inscriptions

across bottom: the prodigal Son Reclaimed father I have Sinned against heaven And in thy Sight / And am no more worthy to be called thy Son luke--15--21.-

Wikidata ID

Q64607435

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