The Burnish Sisters

1854

William Matthew Prior

Associated Names
William Matthew Prior

Artist, American, 1806 - 1873

The image shows two young girls standing together. The girl on the left is seated and holding a collection of colorful flowers in her lap. The girl on the right stands holding a toy lamb on wheels. Both girls have curly hair and wear dresses with unique details. The seated girl has a bow in her hair, wears a coral pink dress, and accessorizes with jewelry. The standing girl's dress is yellow with black polka dots and red ribbon accents. Both girls have soft facial features and blush on their cheeks. A woven basket full of flowers is placed between them on the ground. The background is simple and dark.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Recorded as from New York State.[1] (A. T. Sullivan, city unknown). (Downtown Gallery, New York, 1931-1945), by whom sold in 1945 (F. Valentine Dudensing as agent) to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; by bequest to NGA, 1980.
[1] The original Garbisch accession sheet states that the painting was found in New York State, but a second sheet, provided when it was given to the National Gallery, records its origin as Massachusetts.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • American Ancestors, The Downtown Gallery, New York, 1931, not included in cat.

1932

  • Centennial Exhibition, American Folk Art, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy-Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, 1932, no. 38.

  • Detroit Society of the Arts, 1932, no cat. known.

  • Crillon Galleries, Philadelphia, 1932, no cat. known.

1937

  • Children in American Folk Art, 1725-1865, The Downtown Gallery, New York, 1937, no. 69.

1940

  • A Souvenir of Romanticism in America; or An Elegant Exposition of Taste and Fashion from 1812 to 1865, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1940, unnumbered cat.

  • Survey of American Painting, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1940, no. 31.

1941

  • Milestones of American Art, Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, New York, 1941, no cat.

1943

  • American Primitive Painting of Four Centuries, The Arts Club of Chicago, 1943, no. 35.

1951

  • American Primitive Painting 1759-1950, Milwaukee Art Institute, 1951, no. 12.

1954

  • American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part I, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1954, no. 104.

1955

  • American Primitive Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955.

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. 87, color repro. First venue: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.

1967

  • Fifty Masterpieces of American Primitive Painting from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Society of The Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida, 1967, no cat.

1968

  • American Naive Painting of the 18th and 19th Centuries: 111 Masterpieces from the Collection of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, traveling exh. by Amer. Fed. of Arts, N.Y., 1968-1970, no. 91, repro. First venue: Grand Palais, Paris.

1970

  • American Naive Painting of the 18th and 19th Centuries: Masterpieces from the Collection of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, organized by the Amer. Fed. of Arts, N.Y., and Mainichi News, Nihobashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, 1970, no cat.

  • The New World: 1620-1970, Chrysler Art Museum, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1970, no. 19.

1985

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Exh. cat. Traveling exh. by the International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, 1985-1987, no. 51, 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. 51, repro.

1993

  • A Child's Place, The Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum, Norwalk, Connecticut, 1993, no cat.

Bibliography

1984

  • Journal of the American Medical Association 251, no. 15 (April 1984): 1965, color cover.

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: 306-308, color repro. 307.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 267, repro.

Inscriptions

on reverse (no longer visible, photograph in object file [1980.62.18] in NGA curatorial records); at right: Fanny P. Burnish / Age 6 / Mar 25 / By W. M. Prior 1854; at left: Levenia R. Burnish / age 3 next July 21st 1854 / W. M. Prior 1854 / March 26th.

Wikidata ID

Q20188050

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