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Exhibition History“Rediscovered Painters of Upstate New York,” New York Historical Society, NY, February 1, 1959 – February 28, 1959; Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, Syracuse, NY, January 4, 1959 – January 25, 1959; Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, November 30, 1958 – December 21, 1958; Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, October 30, 1958 – November 20, 1958; Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY, September 26, 1958 – October 21, 1958; New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, NY, June 14, 1958 – September 15, 1958.
“History of the New York State Legislature,” Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, March 14, 1977 - May 15, 1977.
“Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, August 23 – December 31, 2008; New York State Museum, Albany, NY, September 9, 2009 – January 6, 2010.
BibliographyPayne, Christiana, Rustic Simplicity: Scenes of Cottage Life in Nineteenth-Century British Art (exh. cat. Nottingham, UK: Djanogly Art Gallery, 1998), p. 16, fig. 10 ill.
Junker, Patricia A., Burns, Sarah et al., Winslow Homer Artist and Angler (exh cat. New York: NY: Thames and Hudson, 2002), p. 205, 206.
MacLeish, Bruce A., “Paintings in the New York State Historical Association,” in Antiques (September 1984), pp. 593, 595, pl. IX, ill.
Groseclose, Barbara, “Politics and American Genre Painting of the Nineteenth Century,” in Antiques (November 1981), p. 1217, fig. 9, ill.
Johns, Elizabeth, American Genre Painting the Politics of Everyday Life (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993), n.p., pl. 11, ill.
Perman, Michael, Perspectives on the American Past Reading and Commentary, Volume 1: To 1877 (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company, 1996), p. 164, ill.
Sorin, Gretchen Sullivan and Aimonovitch, Mary C., Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art (exh. cat. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2008), p. 29, ill.
Artist
James Goodwyn Clonney
(1812 - 1867)
Politicians in a Country Bar
Date1844
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 21 1/2 × 25 in. (54.6 × 63.5 cm)
Object numberN0407.1955
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextPolitical discussions, and indeed arguments, have always been a vital part of American life and regularly appear as the subject of paintings during the 19th century. Country taverns, a meeting place for both local residents and travelers, were often where opposing ideas met. Clonney's depiction of two antagonists arguing while amused bystanders look on represents American democracy at work. Even in this humorous rendition, however, Clonney reflects the real political and social status of women and African-Americans by placing these figures at the margins of the composition. Clonney's unsophisticated style, even spacing of forms, and flat modeling contrast with the more complex work of his peers, yet his simplicity captures an accurate glimpse of rural 19th-century life.Exhibition History“Rediscovered Painters of Upstate New York,” New York Historical Society, NY, February 1, 1959 – February 28, 1959; Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, Syracuse, NY, January 4, 1959 – January 25, 1959; Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, November 30, 1958 – December 21, 1958; Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, October 30, 1958 – November 20, 1958; Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY, September 26, 1958 – October 21, 1958; New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, NY, June 14, 1958 – September 15, 1958.
“History of the New York State Legislature,” Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, March 14, 1977 - May 15, 1977.
“Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, August 23 – December 31, 2008; New York State Museum, Albany, NY, September 9, 2009 – January 6, 2010.
BibliographyPayne, Christiana, Rustic Simplicity: Scenes of Cottage Life in Nineteenth-Century British Art (exh. cat. Nottingham, UK: Djanogly Art Gallery, 1998), p. 16, fig. 10 ill.
Junker, Patricia A., Burns, Sarah et al., Winslow Homer Artist and Angler (exh cat. New York: NY: Thames and Hudson, 2002), p. 205, 206.
MacLeish, Bruce A., “Paintings in the New York State Historical Association,” in Antiques (September 1984), pp. 593, 595, pl. IX, ill.
Groseclose, Barbara, “Politics and American Genre Painting of the Nineteenth Century,” in Antiques (November 1981), p. 1217, fig. 9, ill.
Johns, Elizabeth, American Genre Painting the Politics of Everyday Life (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993), n.p., pl. 11, ill.
Perman, Michael, Perspectives on the American Past Reading and Commentary, Volume 1: To 1877 (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company, 1996), p. 164, ill.
Sorin, Gretchen Sullivan and Aimonovitch, Mary C., Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art (exh. cat. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2008), p. 29, ill.
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