Artwork
The Herbert Children
The Herbert Children is an oil painting by the Biedermeier artist Lambert Sachs. It dates from 1857 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: L. Sachs / 1857
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting’s condition is noted as preserved within the National Gallery of Art’s holdings, where it remains on display.
The Herbert Children is an oil painting on canvas, measuring approximately 63.3 cm in height by 80.3 cm in width, created in 1857 (inception 1857-01-01). The work belongs to the portrait genre and was executed by Lambert Sachs, a painter documented in both the National Gallery of Art’s collection records and internal catalogues. Its support consists of a canvas substrate prepared for oil paint, a common medium in mid‑19th‑century portraiture, allowing the artist to achieve fine detail and subtle tonal modulation.
The painting’s condition is noted as preserved within the National Gallery of Art’s holdings, where it remains on display.
History & Provenance
The painting The Herbert Children was created in 1857 by Lambert Sachs as an oil on canvas portrait. It remained in the Herbert family of New Jersey until the mid‑20th century, when it entered the stock of the Downtown Gallery in New York, where it was sold in 1946 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. The couple later gifted the work to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it has been part of the permanent collection ever since. The work’s dimensions are 63.3 cm by 80.3 cm, confirming its scale as a full‑size portrait.
The Herbert Children is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered as a gift in 1955 from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. Prior to that, the painting had been acquired in 1946 by the Garbischs from Edith Gregor Halpert of the Downtown Gallery in New York, who had handled it in 1945. Before reaching the New York art market, the work descended within the Herbert family of New Jersey.
No exhibition history beyond this provenance chain is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Lambert Sachs completed The Herbert Children in 1857, an oil on canvas painting depicting two young subjects. This portrait captures the children in a relaxed and natural manner, emphasizing their calm expressions and the intimate atmosphere of the scene. The artist's attention to detail in their attire and surroundings contributes to the work's overall warmth and gentle character, presenting a quiet domestic moment.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents two children seated together, their postures suggesting ease and spontaneity. Their faces convey a sense of tranquility and mildness, contributing to the portrait's quiet mood. Sachs rendered the details of their clothing and immediate environment with precision, grounding the figures within a carefully observed domestic setting and enhancing the sense of a personal, unposed moment.
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