Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2012.

The Scissors Grinder

Artist William Henry Burr (American, 1819 - 1908)

CultureAmerican

Date1856

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions23 7/8 x 19 3/4 in. (60.6 x 50.2 cm)
Overall, Frame: 31 x 27 x 3 1/2 in. (78.7 x 68.6 x 8.9 cm)

Inscribedlower left: W.H. BURR / 1856

Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by Joan and Macon Brock, David and Susan Goode, the Christiane and James Valone Charitable Fund, the Fannie, Milton and Leslie Friedman Foundation, Leah and Richard Waitzer, Douglas and Marianne Dickerson, Shirley and Dick Roberts, Angelica and Henry Light, and John and Kate Broderick

Object number2011.11

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 211

DescriptionThis is a painting of a man and a boy standing on the sidewalk with an upright grinding wheel. The boy stands at the side of the wheel holding a bell. The man is grinding the blade of a pair of scissors. A dog sniffs at the base of the grinder.
Label TextWilliam Henry Burr American, 1819–1908 The Scissors Grinder, 1856 Oil on canvas Graffiti, litter, and clothing details bring the streets of New York to life in William Henry Burr’s Scissors Grinder. Imagine the screech of the blade against the portable, foot-powered whetstone. A boy and dog watch with curiosity, admiring the grinder’s industrious work ethic—he literally embodies the expression “nose to the grindstone.” In the 1850s, most itinerant tradesmen in America’s cities were recent Irish or German immigrants. By giving dignity to a despised and demanding profession, this painting encourages sympathy for the grinder and other victims of poverty and ethnic discrimination. Museum purchase with funds provided by Joan and Macon Brock, David and Susan Goode, the Christiane and James Valone Charitable Fund, the Fannie, Milton and Leslie Friedman Foundation, Leah and Richard Waitzer, Douglas and Marianne Dickerson, Shirley and Dick Roberts, Angelica and Henry Light, and John and Kate Broderick 2011.11ProvenanceVictor D. Spark, New York, by 1957; Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth, Winthrop, Maine, by 1970; Coe Kerr Gallery, New York; Private collector, 1980; Sotheby's, September 30, 2009, lot #44; ?; Hirschl & Adler Galleries; Chrysler Museum of Art, 2011Exhibition History"31st Annual Exhibtion," National Academy of Design, New York, 1856. "Of Other Days: Scenes of Everyday Life," Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey, 1957. "A Hundred Years Ago," American Federation of Arts, traveling exhibition (traveled to nine museums), 1958 - 1959. "The American Painting Collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth," Coe Kerr Gallery, New York, 1970. "Twice as Natural: 19th Century American Genre Painting," Finch College, New York, 1973. "American Genre Paintings," Alexander Gallery, New York, 1984. "American Treasures at the Willoughby-Baylor House," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 2 - December 1, 2013. Published ReferencesFoner, Philip S. and Reinhard Schultz, _The Other America: Art and the Labour Movement in the United States_ (London: Journeyman Press, 1959), 46. Frick Art Reference Library photo archive, no. 120/a Gerdts, William H., _The American Painting Collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth_ (New York: Coe Kerr Gallery, 1970), 14 no. 13 illus. Williams, Jr., Hermann Warner, _Mirror to the American Past: A Survey of American Genre Painting, 1750-1900_ (Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic Society, Ltd., 1973), 126-127, fig. 118 illus.