A Sick Chicken

1874

Winslow Homer

Associated Names
Winslow Homer

Artist, American, 1836 - 1910

This painting shows a woman standing in a grassy area. She is facing forward and looking down at a small white object she holds in her hands which vaguely resembles a small chick. A long white bonnet casts a shadow on her pale face. She wears a long-sleeved dress with a light blue and white stripes with a black ribbon tied around her collar and a long brown apron around her waist. She stands on a wide patch of pale blue-green grass, and several brown and white chickens and small chicks walk in the grass around her. Behind her there are metal milk cans on the left, and on the right is a small red structure that could be a chicken coop. The background is filled by a large white building with a light brown porch and white beams supporting a white shingled roof. On the left is a window with dark green shutters, and in the center behind the woman is an open doorway. On the porch there is also a wooden chair and a wooden table with small pink and brown pots.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    watercolor, gouache, and graphite on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

  • Dimensions

    overall: 24.7 x 19.7 cm (9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1994.59.21

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Goodrich/Gerdts 2005, Vol. II, no. 514

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Lawson Valentine, NY, by 1878; Lucy Houghton Valentine (Mrs. Lawson Valentine), 1891; Almira Valentine Pulsifer (Mrs. Nathan Trowbridge Pulsifer), her daughter, 1911; Harold Trowbridge Pulsifer, NY, her son; Susan Nichols Pulsifer (Mrs. Harold Trowbridge Pulsifer), in trust, 1948; Alice Pulsifer Doyle (Mrs. Joseph Doyle), his niece, 1987; Valentine-Pulsifer Collection (sale, 1989), Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA; gift to NGA, 1994.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1875

  • The Century Association, New York, 9 Jan. 1875, within nos. 35-40

  • Eighth Annual Exhibition, American Society of Painters in Water Colors, 1-27 Feb. 1875, no. 360

1893

  • Seventh Annual Exhibition, American Works Not Before Exhibited, New York Athletic Club, 1 April 1893, no. 22

1915

  • Water Colors by Winslow Homer, The Museum of the Brooklyn Institute, 16 Oct.-7 Nov. 1915; The Century Association, New York, 8 Dec. 1915-c. 14 Jan. 1916, no. 17

1936

  • An Introduction to Homer, Macbeth Gallery, 15 Dec. 1936-18 Jan. 1937, no. 44

1944

  • Winslow Homer, Worcester Art Museum, 16 Nov.-17 Dec. 1944, no. 20

1947

  • A Loan Exhibition of Winslow Homer for the Benefit of the New York Botanical Garden, Wildenstein & Co., New York, 19 Feb.-22 March 1947, no. 46

1954

  • The Art of Winslow Homer, Bowdoin College Museum of Fine Arts, Brusnwick, Maine, and Art Department of Colby College, Waterville, Maine, 1-21 Nov., and 1-21 Dec. 1954

1958

  • Winslow Homer: A Retrospective Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 23 Nov. 1958-4 Jan. 1959; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 29 Jan.-8 March 1959, no.87/80

1970

  • Winslow Homer, 1836-1910: Oils, Watercolors, Drawings, Wood Engravings, William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum, Rockland, Maine, 10 July-7 Sept. 1970, no. 25

1990

  • Winslow Homer in the 1870s: Selections from the Valentine-Pulsifer Collection, The Art Museum, Princeton (New Jersey) University, 10 Feb.-11 March 1990; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, 18 March-15 April 1990, no. 6

1995

  • Winslow Homer, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1995-1996, no. 65.

1999

  • An Enduring Legacy: Masterpieces from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1999-2000.

2005

  • Winslow Homer in the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2005-2006, unnumbered brochure, fig. 4.

Bibliography

1990

  • Wilmerding, John and Linda Ayres. Winslow Homer in the 1870's: Selections from the Valentine-Pulsifer Collection. Exh. cat. The Art Museum, Princeton University; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford. Princeton, 1990: 50-53.

1995

  • Winslow Homer. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995-1996: no. 65.

2000

  • Sotheby's: American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture. Auction cat. May 24, 2000, New York: fig. 2.

2001

  • Winslow Homer and the Critics. Exh. cat. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 2001-2002: fig. 56.

  • Unger, Miles. The Watercolors of Winslow Homer. New York, 2001: 48, 51.

2005

  • Goodrich, Lloyd, and Abigail Booth Gerdts. Record of Works by Winslow Homer, vol. 2. New York: Spanierman Gallery, 2005, p. 295, no. 514.

Inscriptions

lower right in black ink: HOMER - 74

Wikidata ID

Q64640176

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