Jolly Flatboatmen in Port
- Artist
- George Caleb Bingham, American, 1811–1879
- Date
- 1857
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen state, Germany, Europe
- depicts
- Midwest, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 336
- Dimensions
- 47 1/4 x 69 5/8 in. (120 x 176.8 cm)
framed: 61 1/8 x 83 3/4 x 5 3/8 in. (155.3 x 212.7 x 13.7 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 123:1944
NOTES
This painting depicts a flatboat docked at a wharf in St. Louis, where boatmen amuse themselves with homespun entertainment. The revelry is so lively that another flatboat has pulled alongside to observe it. George Caleb Bingham has organized the crowd in a pyramid, with the smiling dancer waving his red handkerchief at its apex. Though early 19th-century writers described flatboatmen as violent, rambunctious individuals living on the margins of society, Bingham’s rosy-cheeked river workers appear more mischievous than threatening
Provenance
- 1865
George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879), Düsseldorf, Germany; Washington, D.C., U.S.A.; Kansas City, MO; Jefferson City, MO [1]
1865 -
John How (1813-1885), St. Louis, MO, purchased from the artist [2]
- 1879
John H. Beach, St. Louis, MO [3]
1879 - 1944
St. Louis Mercantile Library Association, St. Louis, MO, given by John H. Beach [4]
1944 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association [5]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Bloch's catalogue raisonné, the 1986 edition, cat. no. 301 [Bloch, E. Maurice. "The Paintings of George Caleb Bingham: A Catalogue Raisonné." Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1986]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According to the Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Saint Louis Mercantile Library, George Caleb Bingham owned "Jolly Flatboatmen in Port" in 1862, when he placed the painting, as well as his "Stump Speaking" (43:2001), "The County Election" (124:1944), and "The Verdict of the People" (45:2001), on indefinite loan to the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association ["Seventeenth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association: January 13, 1863." St. Louis: M'Kee & Fishback, Printers and Binders, 1863, p. 18].
[2] The annual report of the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association for 1865 indicated that "Jolly Flatboatmen in Port" and three other paintings lent by Bingham (124:1944, 43:2001, 45:2001) were now the property of the O'Fallon Polytechnic Institute and would be moved there upon completion of its new building. However, the report for the year 1867 states that John How, former St. Louis mayor and one of the founders of the Institute, was the actual owner of the paintings. ["Twentieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association." St. Louis: R.P. Studley and Co., 1866, p. 22; "Twenty-second Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association." St. Louis: R.P. Studley & Co., 1868, p. 14].
[3] John H. Beach gave "Jolly Flatboatmen in Port" to the St. Louis Mercantile Library along with several other paintings by Bingham (124:1944, 43:2001, 45:2001). Beach (1829-1893) was a life member, former President, and Trustee of the Mercantile Library Association. It is unclear how or when he acquired the four paintings ["Thirty-fourth Annual Report of the Board of Direction of the Saint Louis Mercantile Library." St. Louis: Printed for the Association, 1880, p. 18-19].
[4] See note [3].
[5] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 8, 1944. Receipt dated November 9, 1944 [SLAM document files].
George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879), Düsseldorf, Germany; Washington, D.C., U.S.A.; Kansas City, MO; Jefferson City, MO [1]
1865 -
John How (1813-1885), St. Louis, MO, purchased from the artist [2]
- 1879
John H. Beach, St. Louis, MO [3]
1879 - 1944
St. Louis Mercantile Library Association, St. Louis, MO, given by John H. Beach [4]
1944 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association [5]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Bloch's catalogue raisonné, the 1986 edition, cat. no. 301 [Bloch, E. Maurice. "The Paintings of George Caleb Bingham: A Catalogue Raisonné." Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1986]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According to the Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Saint Louis Mercantile Library, George Caleb Bingham owned "Jolly Flatboatmen in Port" in 1862, when he placed the painting, as well as his "Stump Speaking" (43:2001), "The County Election" (124:1944), and "The Verdict of the People" (45:2001), on indefinite loan to the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association ["Seventeenth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association: January 13, 1863." St. Louis: M'Kee & Fishback, Printers and Binders, 1863, p. 18].
[2] The annual report of the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association for 1865 indicated that "Jolly Flatboatmen in Port" and three other paintings lent by Bingham (124:1944, 43:2001, 45:2001) were now the property of the O'Fallon Polytechnic Institute and would be moved there upon completion of its new building. However, the report for the year 1867 states that John How, former St. Louis mayor and one of the founders of the Institute, was the actual owner of the paintings. ["Twentieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association." St. Louis: R.P. Studley and Co., 1866, p. 22; "Twenty-second Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association." St. Louis: R.P. Studley & Co., 1868, p. 14].
[3] John H. Beach gave "Jolly Flatboatmen in Port" to the St. Louis Mercantile Library along with several other paintings by Bingham (124:1944, 43:2001, 45:2001). Beach (1829-1893) was a life member, former President, and Trustee of the Mercantile Library Association. It is unclear how or when he acquired the four paintings ["Thirty-fourth Annual Report of the Board of Direction of the Saint Louis Mercantile Library." St. Louis: Printed for the Association, 1880, p. 18-19].
[4] See note [3].
[5] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 8, 1944. Receipt dated November 9, 1944 [SLAM document files].