American Genre Paintings

[Robert Braun]

We can learn much from the American genre paintings of Mount and Bingham.

Here an interesting study of both young male and female dress in "Dancing on the Barn Floor" by William Sydney Mount ca. 1831.

[Robert Braun]

Another entitled "Farmers Nooning" by Mount, ca. 1836.

[Robert Braun]

One of my favorites... "Boatmen on the Missouri" by George Caleb Bingham ca. 1846.

[Robert Braun]

Another great work... "Raftsmen Playing Cards" by George Caleb Bingham, ca. 1847.

[Chris Gordy]

Great works! Wonderful studies into dress and mannerisms. If this is something that a lot of you would like to see more of we can post many more here and create a webpage of more examples on the Apple River Fort website. Let me know what you think. I think it would great! On another note, Mary Ellen Best is another artist to look at. We'll put a couple of her works here for you in the future.

[Larry Koschkee]

Bob, thanks for sharing the paintings that give us a great snapshot of another time. I especially enjoyed the " Raftsman Playing Cards" because it depicted the work environment my Great-Great Grandfather was employed in from 1856 to 1862. He was part of a lumber rafting crew that navigated the waters of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers from "Warners Landing" in Grant County, WI to various points along the Mississippi River. The farthest point being St. Louis, MO.

A couple of observations noted within the painting.

The spike like objects protruding vertically from the lumber raft were called "grub stakes." The name came from the practice of grubbing young trees from the soil. The species were mostly elm or ironwood roots. The root "knot" served as the head of the stake, and stake length was approximately 36" to 40". The stakes where whittled or draw knifed to a circumference of two inches. Two inch auger holes were made in binding planks to form a crib dimension usually 16'x16'. Lumber was then stacked on the cribs to the height not exceeding the length of the "grub stakes". Several of these cribs could be coupled together by short planks with drilled holes forced over adjacent "grub stakes."

Just as a side note, this is the origin of the expression or saying " a grub stake is needed to get a start in business." Pulling or grubbing young trees to sell to the lumbermen was an excellent "cash crop" for many homesteaders.

The second object that attracted my attention was the pants or trousers that the man on the left, sitting on the bench was wearing. "Blue Jeans". They look like modern day denim blue jeans. The little village of Millville in Grant County, WI where my GG-Father resided had a woolen mill that manufactured "blue jeans", perhaps it was part of his attire. The woolen mill was established in 1844. An excerpt from Fennimore Times, issue August 21, 1935. "Millville at one time, Mr. Horsfall states, (born 1850) had seven water power sites all in use, which made it a busy place. One site furnished power for a woolen mill, which manufactured "blue jeans," a combination of home spun wool and cotton carpet warp; this durable cloth was the material for Mr. Horsfall's pants and jackets...

Stout clothing and hickory rulers made for substantial citizenry, as time has proved."

[Mike Thorson]

I'm a fan of the drawings Bingham did as studies primarily for the final paintings. There are few books out there that show these (one is at the Wis Historical Society). The drawings show more detail and look more gritty and immediate. There are also many more single figure studies that were not used too that show lots of interesting details.

[Rusty Ayers]

I think a photo page is a great idea. I miss the art from the former BHW page. I have two out-of-print art books on Bingham and Mount that I can share if they have paintings that other folks don't have. After looking at the Bingham works I'm not as embarrassed at not wearing a waistcoat at the Apple River funeral last weekend!

[Chris Gordy]

Could you list your book of Mount's works here? I'd really like to find a copy. I thought I'd list some other resources here that have some great early 19th century depictions.

Vlack, John Michael. Plain Painters: Making Sense of American Folk Art. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Instutution Press, 1988.

Jacques-Laurent Agasse 1767-1849. London: The Tate London Gallery, 1989.

Lipman, Jean, Elizabeth V. Warren & Robert Bishop. Young American: A Folk-Art History. New York: Hudson Hills Press Inc., 1986.

[Rusty Ayers]

Sure. Here it is:

Frankenstein, Alfred. "Painter of Rural America: William Sidney Mount, 1807-1868," Suffolk Museum at Stony Brook, Long Island; 1968.

Here are some of the plates; some a small b/w pics while others* are full-page color images.

Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride, 1830
Dancing on the Barn Floor, 1831
The Sportsman's Last Visit, 1835*
Farmers Nooning, 1836
Winding Up, 1836
The Long Story, 1837
Raffling for the Goose, 1837
The Painter's Triumph, 1838*
Catching Rabbits, 1839
Cider Making, 1841*
Boy Hoeing Corn, 1840
Ringing the Pig, 1842
The Dead Fall or Trap Sprung, 1844
Dance of the Haymakers, 1845
Eel Spearing at Setauket, 1845
Loss and Gain, 1847*
The Novice, 1847*
Farmer Whetting His Scythe, 1848
California News, 1850
Just in Tune, 1849
Right and Left, 1850
Who'll Turn the Grindstone, 1850

And more post-1850 paintings.

The Bingham book I have is:
Shapiro, et al. "George Caleb Bingham." St. Louis Art Museum, 1990.

It's the catalog from the last big Bingham exhibition and pretty much has everything important he ever painted, almost all in color except for some engravings and sketches.

I can try to post some of these images if someone can teach me how to put links on this page.

[Chris Gordy]

Thanks. It would be cool to see the early 1830s plates. To post them here, however, you have to have them online somewhere. You point the posting to the URL of the picture.

[Rusty Ayers]

Okay, let me see if this works. This is one of my favorites, "The Sportman's Last Visit."

btr0xw.rz.uni-bayreuth.de/cjackson/mount/p-mount8.htm

[Rusty Ayers]

And this one is "Dancing on the Barn Floor."

btr0xw.rz.uni-bayreuth.de/cjackson/mount/p-mount6.htm

[Chris Gordy]

I'm still out there looking for another copy of Alfred's book. In the meantime, however, I've been examining another work:

Low, Betty-Bright and Jacqueline Hinsley. Sophie du Pont, A Young Lady in America: Sketches, Diaries, & Letters. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. 1987.

In this work the authors showcase sketches from Ms. du Pont which accompanied some of her letters and diary entries. The sketches show great detail in garments and how some articles of clothing were worn for different things. For example, going to bed, playing, being formal as well as undergarments for men and women. At Apple River Fort we're right now working on a detailed clothing manual and are finding her works very valuable.

[Robert Braun]

Here's another William Sidney Mount painting, "Raffling for the Goose," circa 1837, from the collection of the Metropolitain Museum of Art, NYC.