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This painting features seven individuals in a group portrait outdoors. Some sit while others stand, facing us. On the right appears to be an adult man wearing a black top hat and a black suit with a white collar, holding a book on his lap. He faces the left, towards the other six people. Those people appear to be children of different ages. There are three older boys wearing black suits over white collared shirts, while there are two younger looking boys with ruffled collars on their back shirts. Seated on the lap of one of the older boys appears to be a baby wearing a white bonnet and a white dress. All of the people have pale skin and short brown hair. The setting is rustic, with a backdrop of dark green trees, a blue sky, and a flowing stream with dark gray rocks on the left.
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This painting features seven individuals in a group portrait outdoors. Some sit while others stand, facing us. On the right appears to be an adult man wearing a black top hat and a black suit with a white collar, holding a book on his lap. He faces the left, towards the other six people. Those people appear to be children of different ages. There are three older boys wearing black suits over white collared shirts, while there are two younger looking boys with ruffled collars on their back shirts. Seated on the lap of one of the older boys appears to be a baby wearing a white bonnet and a white dress. All of the people have pale skin and short brown hair. The setting is rustic, with a backdrop of dark green trees, a blue sky, and a flowing stream with dark gray rocks on the left.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

Abraham Clark and His Children

J. H.

Date
1822
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
overall: 64.8 x 81.3 cm (25 1/2 x 32 in.) framed: 80.6 x 94.9 x 6.9 cm (31 3/4 x 37 3/8 x 2 11/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
1953.5.40
Credit line
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Time span
1801 to 1825
Department
CAB
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • American
  • family
  • portrait
  • American Naive Paintings
  • Naive
  • Clark children
  • Clark, Abraham
Provenance

Recorded as from New Jersey. Abraham Clark (life dates and city unknown). Edward and Cora Clark, Aldine, New Jersey.[1] Sold to (H. Gregory Gulick, Middletown, New Jersey), by whom sold in 1947 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1953. [1] A handwritten note in the NGA curatorial files, apparently supplied to Gulik by Edward and Cora Clark, is headed "Aldine N.J. Nov 27/43." It states that the painting had been in the Clarks' house for about sixty years and that it was previously owned by Edward Clark's grandfather, Abraham Clark, "one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence." Because of the time span, Abraham Clark the signer (1726-1794) cannot have been Edward Clark's grandfather, though he may have been related in an earlier generation, nor, given the date inscribed on the back of the painting, could he be the man in the painting.

Inscription

on reverse: April / 29.1822 / JH (in monogram)

NGA object ID 42443. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.