Artwork
To Decide the Question
To Decide the Question is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist John George Brown. It dates from 1897 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Created in 1897, the artwork is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The painting measures 76.2 cm in height and 101.6 cm in width. As a genre scene, the work depicts a man, consistent with John George Brown's focus on narrative figures. The piece is currently held within the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
6 cm and was created for inclusion in The American Wing collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has been housed since its acquisition.
John George Brown painted "To Decide the Question" in 1897 as an oil on canvas genre scene portraying a man. The work measures 76.2 cm by 101.6 cm and was created for inclusion in The American Wing collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has been housed since its acquisition. No records indicate a specific commission or subsequent changes in ownership; the painting entered the museum's collection upon its completion and remains part of the institution's holdings. Its dating is documented as 1897 (inception 1897‑01‑01).
The painting To Decide the Question by John George Brown is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is listed under the museum’s The American Wing collection and is recorded as an oil on canvas work measuring 76.2 cm by 101.6 cm. The work was created in 1897 and is catalogued as part of the institution’s holdings, though a specific accession number is not provided in the available documentation.
Overview
John George Brown’s 1897 oil on canvas, To Decide the Question, belongs to the American Impressionist tradition. The composition centers on a young street boy in a patched coat, holding a marble in each hand, while a small crowd of older boys watches. The work captures a fleeting, anticipatory moment that precedes a game of marbles, a subject rarely isolated by contemporary artists.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a solitary child poised between two marbles, symbolizing a moment of choice and tension. His smudged face and scuffed shoes convey the gritty reality of New York’s urban youth at the turn of the century. The surrounding onlookers, alternating between smiles and frowns, underscore the social dynamics of street play, highlighting themes of competition, peer observation, and the everyday decisions of working‑class children.
Context
At the close of the 19th century, American artists increasingly turned to domestic subjects, moving away from European historical themes. Brown, a British immigrant who settled in New York, focused on the city’s lower‑class neighborhoods, documenting the lives of children who inhabited the streets. To Decide the Question exemplifies this shift, offering a candid glimpse into the social fabric of a rapidly industrializing metropolis.
Artist & collection
Artist
John George Brown (November 11, 1831 – February 8, 1913) was a British citizen and an American painter who specialized in genre scenes.
