Five Chicks
Artist
Unknown
Dateca. 1820-1840
MediumPaint on velvet
DimensionsUnframed: 8 1/8 x 10 1/4 inches (20.64 x 26.04 cm)
Framed: 9 5/16 x 11 3/8 x 1 1/16 inches (23.65 x 28.89 x 2.7 cm)
Framed: 9 5/16 x 11 3/8 x 1 1/16 inches (23.65 x 28.89 x 2.7 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number33-46
On View
Not on viewCollections
Gallery LabelBecause of the soft texture of velvet, it was considered an ideal material on which to represent flowers, butterflies and small birds. The fuzzy down of the five chicks painted here is conveyed through the bleed of pigment across the short, dense pile of the fabric. After painting the bodies of the chicks, the artist used a fine brush to define their wings, feet and eyes. Freehand painting on velvet was a pastime for women in the early to mid-1800s. Paintings on velvet were primarily produced for domestic display.
Downtown Gallery Records, 1924–74, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, microfilm reel 5561, frame 474, microfi lm reel 5605, frame 553, microfilm reel 5611, frame 1025;
Centennial Exhibition, exh. cat. (Buffalo, N.Y.: Albright Art Gallery, 1932), 9 (as Chicks).
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