Artwork
The Trapper's Cabin
The Trapper's Cabin is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist John Mix Stanley. It dates from 1858 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: J.M. Stanley / 1858
About this work
Technique & Style
John Mix Stanley executed The Trapper's Cabin in 1858 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work measures 91.4 cm in height and 73.5 cm in width. Classified as a group portrait, the piece reflects the artist's engagement with the genre during the mid-19th century.
History & Provenance
The painting was first recorded in the Corcoran’s collection by 1859 and was formally donated to the gallery on 10 May 1869 by William Wilson Corcoran.
John Mix Stanley completed The Trapper's Cabin in 1858. By 1859, the painting had been acquired by William Wilson Corcoran in Washington. On May 10, 1869, Corcoran gifted the work to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, where it remained part of the institution's collection for over a century.
Following the dissolution of the Corcoran Gallery, the artwork was transferred to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 2014.
The work is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection in 2014 through the transfer of the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s holdings.
Its Corcoran Gallery of Art accession number is not specified in the cited records. The painting was first recorded in the Corcoran’s collection by 1859 and was formally donated to the gallery on 10 May 1869 by William Wilson Corcoran.
It has not been documented in any subsequent exhibitions based on the provided sources.
Overview
John Mix Stanley's 1858 oil painting, The Trapper's Cabin, captures an intimate scene of frontier life. The canvas depicts two men within a rustic, cluttered cabin, surrounded by the tools and spoils of their existence. This work offers a glimpse into the daily realities of individuals living on the American frontier, rendered with attention to detail and atmosphere.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents two distinct figures. One man stands confidently, clad in a wide-brimmed hat and long coat, holding a walking stick. In contrast, another figure sits casually on the dirt floor, interacting with a dog, while a dead animal lies nearby.
Their rough-hewn cabin is densely packed with hunting gear, animal skins, and various tools, suggesting a life defined by resourcefulness and the wilderness.
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Artist & collection
Artist
John Mix Stanley (January 17, 1814 – April 10, 1872) was an artist-explorer, an American painter of landscapes, and Native American portraits and tribal life.
- Ennen metsästystä
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