Artwork
The Old Westover House
The Old Westover House is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Edward Lamson Henry. It dates from 1869 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: E L Henry, 69
About this work
Technique & Style
The Old Westover House is an oil painting on paperboard measuring 28.7 cm by 36.5 cm, created by Edward Lamson Henry in 1869. The work depicts a rural scene rendered with careful brushwork that emphasizes texture and atmospheric detail, reflecting Henry's realist approach to American genre subjects.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1869, The Old Westover House is one of Edward Lamson Henry's genre scenes of mid-nineteenth-century American life.
Painted in 1869, The Old Westover House is one of Edward Lamson Henry's genre scenes of mid-nineteenth-century American life. By 1870 it belonged to George Whitney of Philadelphia. In 1885 James F. Sutton acquired it on behalf of the American Art Association in New York.
It passed to W.S. Allen in 1892, remaining with the Association, before being given to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1900. The Corcoran's holdings were transferred to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 2014, where the painting remains. No specific exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Edward Lamson Henry’s 1869 oil on paperboard, titled The Old Westover House, depicts a sizable red‑brick residence with green shutters set amid a grassy yard and surrounding trees. A flag flies from the roof while a modest crowd in period attire, riders, pedestrians, and a few figures on the porch, populate the foreground.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a domestic scene framed by elements of 19th‑century life: wagons, a tent, and a cannon stand near the house, suggesting a moment of communal activity or celebration. The juxtaposition of the tranquil yard with military paraphernalia hints at the intersection of civilian and national themes.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Edward Lamson Henry (January 12, 1841 – May 9, 1919), commonly known as E.L. Henry, was an American genre painter, born in Charleston, South Carolina.
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