Mrs. Noah Smith and Family
1830
oil
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
1830
oil
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
The painting shows a family — Mrs. Noah Smith, her husband, and their daughter — sitting in a plain room. The daughter holds a book while the parents look at the viewer. The clothes look stiff and formal. This was painted in 1830 in Albany, New York. The artist, Ezra Ames, mostly painted portraits. He did it in his studio, not outdoors. This work uses glazing, a technique where thin layers of paint go over dry paint to make colors look rich.
