Artwork Details
33 x 42-1/4 in. (canvas) 39-1/2 x 48-3/4 x 3 in. (framed)
Mark DescriptionSigned and dated, l.l.: GLESSING / 1859
Accession NumberMiscellaneous Painting Fund
CopyrightAmerican Painting and Sculpture 1800-1945
Color PaletteProvenance
Purchased from the parents of Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Wilbur circa 1961 in the Midwest; sold to the museum by Mrs. Stuart Wilbur in 1991
Gallery Labels
- This pioneer family is arranged to remind the viewer of a nativity scene, complete with Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, and a manger.
- The wild landscape of tangled trees and jutting rocks suggests the untamed quality and natural beauty of the American wilderness at that time. In Glessing's composition, the figures coexist peacefully with the natural environment that dwarfs them.
- Glessing, and immigrant from England, was living in Indianapolis when he painted this scene.
Exhibition History
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
American Paintings & Furniture from the 18th and 19th Centuries
Indianapolis Museum of Art
October 24, 1999 - September 24, 2000
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