Artwork
Sisters in Red
Sisters in Red is an oil painting by the Realist artist Sturtevant J. Hamblin. It dates from 1845 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
5 cm in width, employing oil paint applied to a stretched canvas support.
Sisters in Red is an oil painting executed on canvas in 1840. The work measures 63.5 cm in height and 76.5 cm in width, employing oil paint applied to a stretched canvas support. Its formal qualities include a restrained palette dominated by reds and earth tones, with a composition that emphasizes the intimate relationship between the two figures.
The surface condition remains stable, showing no significant degradation, and the handling history reflects careful preservation within the National Gallery of Art's collection.
History & Provenance
Sisters in Red is an oil on canvas painting created in 1840 by Sturtevant J. Hamblin. It entered the art market in 1951 when Clifford Harrington of Walcliff Antiques in Provincetown, Massachusetts, sold it to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. The work was subsequently bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1980, where it remains in the collection today.
The painting measures 63.5 cm in height and 76.5 cm in width, as documented in the National Gallery of Art’s records.
The provenance chain begins with its acquisition by the Garbisches, followed by its donation to the National Gallery of Art.
Sisters in Red is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The work entered the collection through a bequest from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch in 1980, having previously been sold by Clifford Harrington of Walcliff Antiques in 1951.
It was exhibited in the National Gallery's "American Paintings of the 19th Century" exhibition in 1975.
Overview
Sisters in Red, executed in oil on canvas around 1845, presents a pair of women dressed in vivid red garments. The composition places the figures side by side before a dimly lit forest that recedes toward a distant settlement with ships on the horizon.
Subject & Meaning
The left figure is a young girl clutching a small teapot, while the right figure is an older woman holding a folded cloth. Their contrasting ages and the objects they bear suggest a domestic scene that may allude to familial roles or a rite of passage within a household.
Context
The painting reflects mid‑nineteenth‑century American genre conventions, where everyday life and familial relationships were common subjects. The inclusion of a forested backdrop and distant maritime elements situates the work within a rural‑to‑coastal narrative typical of the period.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
