Artwork
The Picnic
The Picnic is a watercolor work on paper. It dates from 1800 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
You see a group of men and women lounging on a riverbank, eating, drinking, and laughing under tall trees.
You see a group of men and women lounging on a riverbank, eating, drinking, and laughing under tall trees. A small boat floats nearby, and the scene feels like a lazy summer afternoon.
This painting is unusual because it’s done in watercolor, not oil, rare for outdoor scenes in 1800. The artist used thin layers, called glazing, to build up colors softly, like watercolor still does today. No one knows who made it, but it feels loose and fresh, not stiff like many works from this time.
If you like this, look up more works in the subject: men, women, boats, picnics, food.
Subject & Meaning
The Picnic presents a modest outdoor tableau that includes a small boat, a solitary man, a leafy tree, and a standing woman. These figures are arranged in a composition typical of early‑19th‑century American genre painting, emphasizing everyday leisure and the simple pleasures of nature. The work is classified as a genre scene and is housed in The American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Its iconography consists of the boat, man, tree, and woman, which together suggest a quiet, pastoral moment without overt narrative or allegorical symbolism.
Technique & Style
Created around 1800, this genre scene utilizes a mixed-media approach on off-white wove paper. The artist combined watercolor and gouache with pen and brown ink, employing gum arabic as a binding agent. The composition depicts a group including a man and a woman situated near a boat and a tree.
The work measures 33.5 cm in height and 42.7 cm in width. It is currently held within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically classified under the American Wing.
History & Provenance
The Picnic is an anonymous watercolor, gouache, pen, brown ink, and gum arabic painting on off‑white wove paper, dated 1800. It measures 33.5 cm by 42.7 cm and portrays a boat, a man, a tree, and a woman in a genre scene. The work is classified within The American Wing and is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, located in New York.
No documentation indicates a specific commission or patron, and the artist remains unidentified. The painting’s creation history is thus confined to its dated production in 1800 and subsequent inclusion in the museum’s holdings.
The Picnic is held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accessioned as 1975.1.2156. The work entered the collection in 1975 through an anonymous gift.
It has been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as part of the 2016 installation American Watercolors and Drawing: Selections from the Permanent Collection.
Overview
The Picnic depicts a leisurely outdoor gathering, rendered with watercolor, gouache, and ink on paper. This artwork stands out for its choice of medium, as using watercolor for a large-scale outdoor scene was uncommon around 1800. The composition captures a relaxed moment on a riverbank, reflecting a departure from the more formal artistic conventions prevalent during its creation.
Artist & collection
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