Shepherdess in the Fields
Artist
Charles Sprague Pearce
(American, 1851-1914)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1890
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 36 7/8 x 19 7/8 in. (93.7 x 50.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 48 1/4 x 31 1/4 in. (122.6 x 79.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 48 1/4 x 31 1/4 in. (122.6 x 79.4 cm)
InscribedThe painting is signed at the lower left: Charles Sprague Pearce.
Credit LineGift of the Mowbray Arch Society, 2006
Object number2006.16
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 217
Label TextCharles Sprague Pearce American, 1851–1914, active France Shepherdess in the Fields, ca. 1890 Oil on canvas A French shepherdess stands guard over her family’s sheep as they graze in the fields. Pasturing sheep was a daylong task, and to pass the time this woman knits, an activity associated with feminine virtue and industriousness. She wears traditional wooden clogs, a snug white peasant bonnet, and a threadbare but nonetheless magnificent fur cloak, all of which makes her a symbol of the countryside and a model of patience and diligence. The model here was none other than the artist’s wife, Antonia, who was an artist herself. Gift of the Mowbray Arch Society 2006.16 ProvenancePrivate American Collector; Schiller & Bodo, New York, NY; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, Gift of the Mowbray Arch Society, 2006. Exhibition History"Reopening of the Joan P. Brock Galleries," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Opening in March of 2008. "The Agrarian Ideal: Monet, van Gogh, Homer," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 7, 2016 - January 8, 2017.
