Artwork
The Bashful Cousin
The Bashful Cousin is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Francis William Edmonds. It dates from 1842 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The Bashful Cousin is executed in oil on canvas, a standard support for mid-nineteenth-century American genre painting.
The Bashful Cousin is executed in oil on canvas, a standard support for mid-nineteenth-century American genre painting. The painting measures 63.2 cm in height by 76 cm in width, yielding a horizontal orientation suited to its anecdotal subject matter. Edmonds's handling falls within the narrative-realist tradition associated with his genre scenes, relying on the layered application of oil paint to render figures and interior detail.
The work is classified as a painting and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
History & Provenance
The painting was created by Francis William Edmonds in 1841 as an oil on canvas work. It entered the ownership of Jonathan Sturges of New York and Connecticut shortly after its creation, passed to his son Frederick Sturges, and subsequently to Frederick Sturges, Jr., who resided in Fairfield, Connecticut. A 1966 letter from Frederick Sturges, Jr. confirms this familial descent. The artwork was gifted to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1978.
The National Gallery of Art currently holds the painting in its collection, where it remains on display.
The Bashful Cousin is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The work was acquired by the museum in 1978 as a gift from Frederick Sturges, Jr., continuing a lineage of ownership that began when Jonathan Sturges purchased the painting directly from the artist around 1841 or 1842. Jonathan Sturges, a prominent New York merchant and banker, passed the work to his son Frederick Sturges, who in turn bequeathed it to his son, Frederick Sturges, Jr. The painting remained within the Sturges family for over a century before its donation to the national institution. No specific accession number or exhibition history is provided in the available records.
Overview
Francis William Edmonds painted The Bashful Cousin in oil around 1842. The work depicts an intimate domestic interior, illuminated by soft daylight that filters through a window onto a modestly furnished room.
Subject & Meaning
At the center, a young man in a tan coat and white breeches holds a hat while a woman in a red dress with a blue apron leans against his arm, suggesting a moment of shy affection. A small dog stands nearby, and two figures are seated at a table in the background, adding layers of social interaction within the household.
Context
The painting aligns with mid‑19th‑century American genre scenes that often portrayed everyday moments with a sentimental tone. Its focus on a modest, middle‑class setting and the inclusion of domestic objects echo contemporary concerns about family and social propriety.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Francis William Edmonds was born November 22, 1806, in Hudson, New York, into a large Quaker family.
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