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of everyday life, produced in and about America and often reproduced by other artists. In this scene, children greet their parents who have just returned from town with gifts. Krimmel showcases multiple generations within the family, from the very young to the elderly, in this lively composition.
It is important to note the figure in the center of the composition, The Black youth who holds the horse’s reigns, perhaps the family’s stable hand, is depicted in a stereotypical manner, shoeless, and grinning. Krimmel was among the first artists in America to portray free Black citizens in his compositions, but it is crucial to examine the difference between Krimmel’s depictions to those of the subsequent generations of genre painters. This shift toward a more humanizing manner of depicting Black Americans doesn’t truly begin until ten years after Krimmel’s death in the 1840s with the work of William Sidney Mount and only continues to build momentum going into the 1880s with the work of Edward Lamson Henry.
Exhibition History"The Painter's America: Rural and Urban Life 1810-1910," The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA, September 1, 1974 - March 31, 1975.
After
John Lewis Krimmel
(American, 1786 - 1821)
Return From Town
Datec. 1820
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 22 × 31 3/16 × 1 in. (55.9 × 79.2 × 2.5 cm)
Sight: 18 3/16 × 27 1/2 in. (46.2 × 69.9 cm)
Object numberN0242.1947
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Museum Purchase
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextJohn Lewis Krimmel’s images of the streets and citizenry of contemporary Philadelphia are the earliest genre scenes, or pictures, of everyday life, produced in and about America and often reproduced by other artists. In this scene, children greet their parents who have just returned from town with gifts. Krimmel showcases multiple generations within the family, from the very young to the elderly, in this lively composition.
It is important to note the figure in the center of the composition, The Black youth who holds the horse’s reigns, perhaps the family’s stable hand, is depicted in a stereotypical manner, shoeless, and grinning. Krimmel was among the first artists in America to portray free Black citizens in his compositions, but it is crucial to examine the difference between Krimmel’s depictions to those of the subsequent generations of genre painters. This shift toward a more humanizing manner of depicting Black Americans doesn’t truly begin until ten years after Krimmel’s death in the 1840s with the work of William Sidney Mount and only continues to build momentum going into the 1880s with the work of Edward Lamson Henry.
Exhibition History"The Painter's America: Rural and Urban Life 1810-1910," The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA, September 1, 1974 - March 31, 1975.
On View
Not on viewc. 1850-1880
c. 1872-1915
c. 1940-1950
c. 2002-2014
c. 1900
c. 1883-1888
