Artwork
The Ragan Sisters
The Ragan Sisters is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Jacob Eichholtz. It dates from 1818 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
2 by 108 cm in its portrait format, an upright composition suited to a half- or three-quarter-length depiction of two sitters.
The Ragan Sisters is a portrait of two sisters, painted by Jacob Eichholtz in 1818. The work is classified as a painting in oil on canvas and is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. According to the catalogue record, the painting depicts flowers, suggesting that the sisters may be shown holding or accompanied by floral elements, a common convention in early nineteenth-century American portraiture, where flowers carried symbolic associations with femininity, youth, and the bonds of kinship. The canvas measures 151.2 by 108 cm in its portrait format, an upright composition suited to a half- or three-quarter-length depiction of two sitters.
Beyond the identification of the sitters through the title and the floral motif noted in the catalogue, the available sources do not provide further detail on the specific iconography, symbolic program, or intended meaning of the work.
Technique & Style
The Ragan Sisters is an oil on canvas painting executed in 1818. The work measures 151.2 × 108 cm. Jacob Eichholtz employed oil paint on canvas support for this portrait, a standard medium for American painting of the period. The composition depicts flowers, incorporated as an element within the portrait's formal arrangement.
History & Provenance
The Ragan Sisters was painted in 1818 by the American artist Jacob Eichholtz. The work remained within the Ragan family, passing from Mary Ragan’s daughter, Mary (Mollie) Ragan Macgill of Galveston, Texas, to her nephew, Dr. Cooper R. Drewry of Catonsville, Maryland. After Drewry’s death, the painting went to his wife, Mrs. Cooper R. Drewry of Baltimore, who bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Art in 1959. No record of a specific commission survives in the sources.
The Ragan Sisters is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The painting was acquired by the institution in 1959 as a gift from Mrs. Cooper R. Drewry of Baltimore, Maryland, and is identified by the accession number 1959.7.1. No specific exhibition history is documented in the provided sources.
Overview
Jacob Eichholtz completed The Ragan Sisters in 1818, an oil on canvas painting. This work portrays two young girls, presumably the Ragan sisters, seated together. Their period attire and the surrounding floral elements contribute to the composition. The painting is currently housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
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Artist & collection
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