Artwork
Moses Pond
Moses Pond is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist George Peter Alexander Healy. It dates from 1832 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting Moses Pond is executed in oil on canvas, measuring 76.
The painting Moses Pond is executed in oil on canvas, measuring 76.2 cm by 63.5 cm and dated 1832. Healy applied layered oil pigments to a stretched canvas, a technique typical of mid-nineteenth-century portraiture that yields a smooth surface and subtle modeling of facial features. The work belongs to the portrait genre and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, where it is presented as a realistic likeness of the subject.
History & Provenance
Moses Pond is an 1832 oil-on-canvas portrait by George P. A. Healy, portraying the subject Moses Pond. The painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is held in the American Wing. The work measures 76.2 cm by 63.5 cm and is documented as a portrait of a man. No specific accession or inventory number, nor any exhibition history, is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Moses Pond, an oil on canvas from 1832, is an early work by George P. A. Healy, a notable American portraitist. Housed in the American Wing, this painting presents an unidentified man in a tranquil outdoor setting. It offers a glimpse into the formative period of an artist who would later achieve considerable recognition for his depictions of prominent figures across the 19th century. The work reflects a developing style before his widespread success.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features a young man in a dark coat, depicted leaning against a tree beside a calm body of water. His identity remains unspecified, allowing the viewer to contemplate the scene without specific historical context. The quiet pond and the man's contemplative posture evoke a sense of introspection and solitude. This intimate portrayal suggests a private moment captured, inviting personal reflection rather than historical narrative.
Context
This portrait was completed in 1832 when George P. A. Healy was only seventeen years old, marking the very beginning of his artistic career. It represents a foundational piece from his formative years in Boston, preceding his extensive travels and subsequent rise to prominence. Healy would later become one of the 19th century's most prolific portrait painters, renowned for capturing the likenesses of many notable individuals in both American and European society.
Artist & collection
Artist
George Peter Alexander Healy (July 15, 1813 – June 24, 1894) was an American portrait painter.
