Artwork
Feeding the Bird
Feeding the Bird is an oil painting. It dates from 1800 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
No information is available in the provided sources regarding the specific handling of the paint, stylistic characterization, or current condition of the work.
Feeding the Bird is an oil painting executed on canvas, a medium consistent with American genre painting of its period. The work measures 56 by 43.2 cm, a modest scale suited to an intimate domestic subject. It is classified as a genre scene and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
No information is available in the provided sources regarding the specific handling of the paint, stylistic characterization, or current condition of the work.
History & Provenance
The painting was created in 1800 by an unidentified artist associated with 19th-century American genre scenes.
Its early provenance traces to Virginia, though no further details about its ownership before the 20th century are recorded. In 1947, the work was purchased by collectors Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. The couple later donated the painting to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection in 1953.
Feeding the Bird is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The work was acquired by collectors Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch in Virginia in 1947. They subsequently donated the painting to the National Gallery of Art in 1953. The provided sources do not list a specific inventory or accession number for the work, nor do they document any exhibition history.
Context
The painting Feeding the Bird belongs to the American 19th-century school and is catalogued as a genre scene. It measures 56 cm by 43.2 cm and was executed in oil on canvas.
The work entered the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., through a 1947 purchase by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who later gifted it to the museum in 1953.
Scholarly attention to the piece has been limited, but its inclusion in the museum’s collection reflects its significance within the broader narrative of early American painting.
The painting’s provenance and physical attributes are documented in the National Gallery of Art’s records and its Wikidata entry.
Overview
“Feeding the Bird” is an oil on canvas work that presents a young girl in a yellow dress, a black ribbon at her throat, and a matching bracelet on her right wrist. She cradles a bird in her hands, her face softened by a faint smile. The backdrop is rendered in a muted green, providing a gentle contrast to the warm hues of her clothing.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a moment of quiet interaction between child and creature, suggesting themes of tenderness and the simple pleasures of nature. The girl's serene expression and the bird’s calm posture together convey a tranquil intimacy, inviting contemplation of the bond between humanity and the natural world.
Artist & collection
- Catherine Brower
Miss Daggett of New Haven, Connecticut (possibly Amelia Martha)
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