This is an original William Sidney Mount (American, 1807-1868) oil on canvas of a woman and children from the Sjaardema Art Collection. The piece shows an oil painting on stretched canvas in an original period early-to-mid 19th century gold gilted ornate frame. William Sidney Mount (born 1807; died 1868) was a prolific 19th-century American oil painter. William Sidney Mount grew up on a farm in Setauket, Long Island, and was the first American-born genre painter of significance to depict the daily lives and tasks of the average citizen. He worked during a time when other artists emulated the European academic tradition of painting historical, religious, or literary scenes, yet Mount remained steadfast and depicted rural American subjects in a skillful, realistic style.
Mount was influenced by the artwork of British genre artists Hogarth and Wilkie, whose engravings were popular in the United States. However, Mount's scenes are undoubtedly American in subject, such as Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride, exhibited at the National Academy of Design. Mount's paintings were popular among the growing number of newly rich collectors, many of whom came from country towns such as those that Mount painted.
Mount's best-known patron was Luman Reed, who offered to pay for Mount to study art in Europe. Mount declined "For fear I might be induced by the splendor of European art to tarry too long, and thus lose my nationality. We have nature, it speaks to every one and what efforts I have made in art have been appreciated by my countrymen." While a boy, Mount recalled that his curiosity with painting was piqued when his younger sister Ruth began painting lessons at home. His oldest brother Henry was the first member of the Mount family to make a living as an artist and William first trained as his apprentice. From 1826 to 1827, Mount was among the first students to study art at the National Academy of Design in New York City.
In 1829, Mount and another brother, Shepard ,set up a studio and painted portraits. In 1830, he returned to Stony Brook, Long Island, where he lived and painted for the remainder of his life. Mount's success spread nationally and internationally with the reproduction of his paintings into popular prints and later into color lithographs published by the French firm, Goupil and Company. His paintings are housed in numerous public collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and the Stony Brook Museum of American Art.
This painting shows exquisite detail of a woman holding her two children in a rural Long Island home sitting on the edge of her bed in the cramped room with her spinning wheel at her feet. The artwork is marked below with a brass plaque identifying the piece as being from (William) Sidney Mount 1807-1868, American, dating the painting to circa 1835 and stating it as being in the style of the Dutch Masters, oil with a reference from Davenport, Benezit. The artwork itself is overall well kept with the original painting being in good condition. There is a small approx.. 3/8” x 3/8” puncture at the center which could be repaired; as well the right side shows a long dark spindle with white cloudiness to it, likely a touch up or old damage, similarly seen to the left of the woman on the bed., The frame shows some small chipping to the elaborate plaster work and carvings but displays beautifully and is in solid structural condition. The artwork canvas itself measures 17.25” x 12 5/8” and the frame is 22 5/8" x 18 1/8”. The work was identified as being a William Sidney Mount through extensive research by the Sjaardema's, though unsigned. Provenance: From the renowned collection of Henry and Jean Sjaardema.*