The Wood-Boat
- Artist
- George Caleb Bingham, American, 1811–1879
- Date
- 1850
- Material
- Oil on canvas mounted on board
- made in
- Missouri, United States, North and Central America
- depicts
- Missouri, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 25 1/8 × 30 in. (63.8 × 76.2 cm)
framed: 34 15/16 × 38 7/8 × 5 1/8 in. (88.7 × 98.7 × 13 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 14:1951
NOTES
The late afternoon sun paints the clouds pink and casts golden light over three men waiting with a load of wood. The wood will be sold as fuel to any steamer that passes. In earlier decades, flatboats served as a primary means of river transport, but by 1850, steamboats had assumed that role. Besides offering a representation of a peaceful moment along the river, Bingham uses this trio of figures to illustrate three different stages of life: youth, adulthood, and old age.
Provenance
1851 - 1852
American Art-Union, purchased from the artist [1]
1852/12/17
John J. Herrick (1817-1887), Tarrytown, NY, purchased at the auction of the artwork of the American Art-Union, New York, David Austen, Jr., December 17, 1852, lot no. 352 [2]
1887 - 1950
Heirs of John J. Herrick
1950
Wunderly Gallery (Philip E. Lange), Pittsburgh, PA, acquired from a descendant of John J. Herrick [3]
1950 - 1951
John Levy Galleries, New York, NY, purchased from Wunderly Gallery (Philip E. Lange)
1951
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, purchased from John Levy Galleries [4]
1951 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co.[5]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Bloch's catalogue raisonné, the 1986 edition, cat. no. 221 [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] Bingham first tried to sell “The Wood-Boat” to the American Art-Union on November 19, 1850, and February 20, 1851, but the AAU declined to purchase it at that time. The AAU finally purchased the work from Bingham on March 21, 1851, for $125.
[2] [“American Art Union.” "New York Times," December 18, 1852. "Catalogue of Pictures and Other Works of Art, the Property of the American Art-Union. To Be Sold at Auction by David Austen, Jr., at the Gallery, 497 Broadway, on Wednesday, the 15th, Thursday 16th, and Friday 17th, December, 1852." Bulletin of the American Art-Union 10, Supplementary Bulletin (December 1, 1852): 7, lot no. 352].
[3] A memo from Stewart Leonard to Thomas Hoopes dated June 21, 1951, states that a man named Philip E. Lange identified two paintings in the attic of a friend (“The Wood-Boat” and “Trappers’ Return”) as Binghams after reading an article in "Life Magazine" [SLAM document files]. This article illustrated Bingham’s sketch of the central figure of “The Wood-Boat”, who stands leaning against a pole, as well as “Fur Traders Descending the Missouri” [“The Mississippi: St. Louis Museum Shows Art of the River’s Great Past.” "Life" 28, 10 (March 6, 1950), p. 73-78]. The friend, a descendant of John J. Herrick, then gave the paintings to Wunderly Gallery (in which Philip E. Lange was the silent partner) in order to sell them.
[4] Wunderly Gallery sold “The Wood-Boat” to John Levy Galleries, which in turn sold the painting to M. Knoedler & Co. [see note 3]
[5] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control dated February 1, 1951.
American Art-Union, purchased from the artist [1]
1852/12/17
John J. Herrick (1817-1887), Tarrytown, NY, purchased at the auction of the artwork of the American Art-Union, New York, David Austen, Jr., December 17, 1852, lot no. 352 [2]
1887 - 1950
Heirs of John J. Herrick
1950
Wunderly Gallery (Philip E. Lange), Pittsburgh, PA, acquired from a descendant of John J. Herrick [3]
1950 - 1951
John Levy Galleries, New York, NY, purchased from Wunderly Gallery (Philip E. Lange)
1951
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, purchased from John Levy Galleries [4]
1951 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co.[5]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Bloch's catalogue raisonné, the 1986 edition, cat. no. 221 [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] Bingham first tried to sell “The Wood-Boat” to the American Art-Union on November 19, 1850, and February 20, 1851, but the AAU declined to purchase it at that time. The AAU finally purchased the work from Bingham on March 21, 1851, for $125.
[2] [“American Art Union.” "New York Times," December 18, 1852. "Catalogue of Pictures and Other Works of Art, the Property of the American Art-Union. To Be Sold at Auction by David Austen, Jr., at the Gallery, 497 Broadway, on Wednesday, the 15th, Thursday 16th, and Friday 17th, December, 1852." Bulletin of the American Art-Union 10, Supplementary Bulletin (December 1, 1852): 7, lot no. 352].
[3] A memo from Stewart Leonard to Thomas Hoopes dated June 21, 1951, states that a man named Philip E. Lange identified two paintings in the attic of a friend (“The Wood-Boat” and “Trappers’ Return”) as Binghams after reading an article in "Life Magazine" [SLAM document files]. This article illustrated Bingham’s sketch of the central figure of “The Wood-Boat”, who stands leaning against a pole, as well as “Fur Traders Descending the Missouri” [“The Mississippi: St. Louis Museum Shows Art of the River’s Great Past.” "Life" 28, 10 (March 6, 1950), p. 73-78]. The friend, a descendant of John J. Herrick, then gave the paintings to Wunderly Gallery (in which Philip E. Lange was the silent partner) in order to sell them.
[4] Wunderly Gallery sold “The Wood-Boat” to John Levy Galleries, which in turn sold the painting to M. Knoedler & Co. [see note 3]
[5] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control dated February 1, 1951.