George Chambers 1
Poor Man's Flock
1897

About the Item

George W. Chambers “Poor Man’s Flock” 1897 Oil on Canvas 23.5 x 37.5 inches/42 x 57 inches framed approx. In Original Frame Provenance: The Artist thence by Descent; to Private Midwest Collection thence by Descent. Literature: See below quote by the artist regarding this painting as well as the attached images from "History of Missouri" where this painting is discussed in detail. Condition Report: This work is in excellent condition and on its original canvas - not relined. *See attached images for biography and the artist's own words describing this painting This painting was the artist's last and most important work. Painted in 1897, Chambers described it as "His daughter, his gentle ewe, now the mother of two, and his faithful dog. These constitute some of his treasures, material and spiritual, and give the keynote to whatever sentiment pervades the canvas. Primarily I have sought to make the picture one of rest; yet having through it all, the evidences of humble toil. For this reason I have chosen the time of the rising of the fill moon, while the light of the sun dies slowly out in the west behind the spectator. Of all times it is the very hour of rest. The larger lines of the picture I have sought to make easy and flowing. The smoke from the evening cottage fires show a still air. The cumulous clouds rest lazily upon the purple hills. The cottages scattered through the valleys, nestle restfully among the sheltered trees. These things - materialistic trifles they may be - are what must express to the spectator the sentiment of repose, if he feel that sentiment at all. While as for the evidences of work, the ungarnered field of ripened wheat close at hand, no less than the shorn fields beyond, bespeak the sturdy toil of the hand of man. Ruskin has said: That it was probably a happier frame of mind to live in a cottage and have Warwick Castle to wonder at, than nothing to wonder at. However that may be, the externals of the cottager's life, as here expressed, are not without their charm and their beauty. If their possessions are few and of homely grace, they are part and parcel of themselves and the cares possessions bring are not theirs. The patient girl, careful alike of the tender lamb and its anxious mother, knows little of those fineries so dear to the universal feminine heart; yet she will have her ribbons when the packman comes along - common enough it may be, yet sufficient to give that touch of softer femininity which all true women unconsciously long for. For the rest, the merit of its color, if it has any, the drawing, the textures and all that is technical, I leave to the critic". On the 14th of June 1897, the career of this talented artist and charming gentleman was cut short by death, and he was mourned not only in artistic circles, but by a host of friends and admirers both in this country and abroad.

Creator:
George Chambers 1 (1803 - 1840)
Creation Year:
1897
Dimensions:
Height: 42 in (106.68 cm)Width: 57 in (144.78 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Medium:
Canvas,Oil
Movement & Style:
Victorian
Period:
1890-1899
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Missouri, MO
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU74735081912
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