Artwork
Family Group
Family Group is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist William James Glackens. It dates from 1910 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: W. Glackens
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting remains part of the collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.
William Glackens executed Family Group in 1910 using oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 182.8 cm in height and 213.3 cm in width, establishing it as a substantial easel painting. As an oil-on-canvas composition, the piece reflects the artist's handling of the medium during this period, characterized by the physical presence of paint applied to the woven fabric.
The painting remains part of the collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having been gifted to the institution in 1971.
History & Provenance
Family Group was commissioned and painted by William Glackens in 1910 in New York.
The work remained with the artist until his death in 1938, after which it passed by inheritance to his wife, Edith Dimock Glackens. Upon her death in 1955, it descended to their son, Ira Glackens. The painting was later given by Ira Glackens to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection in 1971.
Family Group is an oil on canvas painting by William Glackens created in 1910. It entered the National Gallery of Art collection through a series of inheritances within the Glackens family, beginning with the artist himself, passing to his wife Edith Dimock Glackens, then to their son Ira Glackens, and finally being gifted to the museum in 1971. The work measures 182.8 cm in height and 213.3 cm in width. It has been part of the National Gallery of Art's permanent holdings since its acquisition in 1971.
Context
Family Group, painted in 1910 by William Glackens, exemplifies his early social realist style while depicting intimate domestic scenes. The work entered the National Gallery of Art collection in 1971 through a series of inheritances tracing back to the artist's wife and son, reflecting its prolonged family ownership. Its formal scale, measured at 182.8 cm by 213.3 cm, underscores Glackens' engagement with compositional traditions of the Dutch Golden Age, particularly in rendering group interactions.
Scholarship notes the painting's significance as part of the artist's evolving body of work focused on familial bonds and contemporary urban life, situating it within broader early 20th-century American art movements.
Overview
Family Group is an oil on canvas painted by American artist William Gladdens in 1910. The work measures a modest size and depicts an intimate interior scene populated by three figures. The composition is arranged within a brightly lit room, emphasizing the relationships among the sitters through their poses and attire.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents a woman in a dark dress and wide-brimmed hat, a child in a light blue dress clutching a small bouquet, and another woman in a red top with a white skirt, her hat tipped forward. The arrangement suggests a domestic gathering, perhaps a mother, daughter, and another female relative, highlighting everyday familial bonds rather than formal portraiture.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
William James Glackens was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid down by the conservative National Academy of Design.
