The Golden Age
1875
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
1875
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
The Golden Age is a 1875 oil by Sir John Edward Poynter, a Impressionism work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
This painting shows a woman in old-fashioned clothes holding a baby near a stone fountain. Sunlight glints off the water, and the woman’s dress has soft folds in pale colors. She seems to be blessing the child—her hand hovers over its head. The background is blurry, so the scene feels quiet and private. It feels like a warm, sunlit moment frozen in time. If you like this, check out Sir John Edward Poynter at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Collection of the artist, 1875 [lent to London 1875, along with The Festival, 2002.380]. Possibly B. Thomas [according to Fine Arts Society 1974]. P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. Ltd., London, by 1972, with The Festival [see Burlington Magazine 1972]; sold to Suzette Morton Davidson (née Zurcher) (died 1996), Santa Barbara and Chicago, 1973 with The Festival [according to bill of sale, dated January 31, 1973, copy in curatorial file]; bequeathed to the Art Institute with her husband Eugene Davidson (died 2002) having life interest, 2002.
Henry Blackburn, Academy Notes: 1875 (London: Chatto and Windus, 1875), pp. 22–23, no. 236. James Dafforne, “The Works of Edward J. Poynter, R. A.,” Art Journal 3 (1877), p. 51. William Cosmo Monkhouse, Sir Edward John Poynter, President of the Royal Academy (London: Virtue & Co., 1897), n. p. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, The Works of John Ruskin, vol. 14 (London: George Allen, 1904), p. 273 under no. 233. Algernon Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and their Work from its Foundation in 1769 to 1904, vol. 6 (London: H. Graves and Co., Ltd., 1906),…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Sir John Edward Poynter (1836–1919) was an English artist.
See the richer artist page
