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John George Brown 1831-1913
Description
- John George Brown
- Resting in the Woods (Girl Under a Tree)
- signed J.G. Brown and dated 1866, l. r.
- oil on canvas
- 18 by 12 1/4 in.
- (45.7 by 31.1 cm)
Provenance
George P. Guerry, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand H. Davis, New York
Lee B. Anderson, New York
Robert Mann, Miami, Florida
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 1973
Acquired by the present owners from the above, 1973
Exhibited
New York, National Academy of Design, Forty-Second Annual Exhibition, 1867, no. 563 (probably)
New York, M. Knoedler & Co., Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Paul Rosenberg and Co., The American Vision, Paintings 1825-1875, October-November 1968, no. 65, illustrated
St. Petersburg, Florida, Museum of Fine Arts; Orlando, Florida, Loch Haven Art Center, The Good Life, An Exhibition of American Genre Painting, September-November 1971, no. 6, p. 40, illustrated
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, 18th and 19th Century Paintings from Private Collections, June-September 1972, no. 7
Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, American Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings from the Collection of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr., June-July 1973, no. 12, illustrated
Houston, Texas, Meredith Long & Company, Tradition and Innovation, American Paintings 1860-1970, January 1974, no. 3, p. 15, illustrated
New York, National Academy of Design, A Century and a Half of American Art, October-November 1975, pp. 37-38, illustrated
Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art; Fort Worth, Texas, Amon Carter Museum; Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, An American Perspective: Nineteenth-Century Art from the Collection of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr., October 1981-September 1982, p. 117, illustrated in color p. 56
Springfield, Massachusetts, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Country Paths and City Sidewalks: The Art of J.G. Brown, March-December 1989, no. 34, illustrated in color p. 43
Stanford, California, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, American ABC: Childhood in 19th-Century America, February-May 2006, no. 9
Literature
Linda Ayres, "An American perspective: nineteenth-century art from the collection of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr.," The Magazine Antiques, January 1982, p. 266, illustrated in color pl. XIII
Claire Perry, Young America: Childhood in Nineteenth Century Art and Culture, New Haven, Connecticut, 2006, illustrated in color p. 39
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
"Resting in the Woods depicts a pensive young girl in repose outdoors. The way in which [John George Brown] has rendered the various textures – of her straw hat, shoes, luscious pink dress, and of the mossy rock and the bark and leaves – is one indication of his skill. But the real artistic achievement is revealed in Brown's early use of sunlight as it filters through the leaves. It is a hard, white light that objectively describes the figure and its surroundings. Predating by ten years similar works of solitary, introspective women outdoors by Winslow Homer, it is a work of enormous beauty and force" (Linda Ayres, An American Perspective: Nineteenth-Century Art from the collection of Jo Ann & Julian Ganz, Jr., 1981, p. 53-54).