Artwork
Picking Cotton
Picking Cotton is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist William Gilbert Gaul. It dates from 1890 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: G.Gaul
About this work
Technique & Style
Executed in 1890, Picking Cotton is an oil painting applied to an academy board support. The work measures 33.66 cm in height and 46.36 cm in width. Created by William Gilbert Gaul, the piece is classified as a painting within the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having previously been held by the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
History & Provenance
Upon the dissolution of the Corcoran's collection, the work was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in 2015, where it is currently held.
Picking Cotton was created in 1890 by William Gilbert Gaul, executed in oil on academy board. The earliest documented ownership in the provenance is the Old Print Shop, Inc., a New York dealer, from which the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington acquired the painting in February 1957. The Corcoran held the work until 2015, when it was transferred to the National Gallery of Art, which remains its current location.
The painting Picking Cotton entered the collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., following its purchase from the Old Print Shop, Inc. of New York in February 1957. Upon the dissolution of the Corcoran's collection, the work was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in 2015, where it is currently held. While the piece has been part of these significant institutional holdings, the available records do not list specific public exhibitions or assign a distinct accession number beyond its transfer history between these two Washington-based museums.
Legacy
Picking Cotton by William Gilbert Gaul emerged as a significant work within his oeuvre, later influencing regionalist painters through its nuanced portrayal of Southern labor. The painting entered the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1957 after acquisition from Old Print Shop, Inc., and was subsequently transferred to the National Gallery of Art in 2015, ensuring its preservation within a major institutional collection. Its legacy persists through scholarly attention to Gaul's realist approach to American genre scenes during the late 19th century.
Overview
William Gilbert Gaul’s oil work titled Picking Cotton, executed around 1890, portrays a quiet agricultural moment in the American South. Rendered on an academy board, the composition centers three women engaged in cotton harvesting, set against a modest rural landscape that includes a modest house, a line of trees, and a pale sky.
Subject & Meaning
The painting captures three laboring women, each clothed in long skirts, blouses, and headscarves, as they gather white cotton bolls amid green foliage. By focusing on their collective activity, the work reflects the everyday realities of cotton production and the role of women within that agrarian economy.
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