Description:
Framed oil painting of a young woman (probably Champney's wife, Elizabeth Williams Champney) under a tree and a young child (probably their daughter, Maria Mitchell Champney) feeding ducks in a small pond in the south yard of the Champney-Williams House in Deerfield, which is signed and dated "Champ 79" in the lower right. Born in Boston, James Wells Champney (1843-1903) served in the 45th Massachusetts Volunteers from 1862-1863 before being invalided out of the army; he then taught drawing at Dr. Dio Lewis's "Young Ladies Seminary" from 1864-1866. After deciding to become a professional artist, Champney moved to Europe where he studied in France with Pierre Edouard Frere (1819-1886), a well-known French realist genre painter; in Antwerp with Joseph Francois Henri Van Lerius (1823-1876); and in Italy. In 1870, Champney returned to Boston where he opened a studio; in 1873, he was commissioned by "Scribner's Monthly Magazine" to illustrate "The Great South; A Record of Journeys in Louisiana, Texas, the Indian Territory, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland," a series of articles on the Reconstruction South by Edward King (1848-1896) where the two travelled more than 25,000 miles and Champney contributed at least 500 illustrations. In 1873, Champney married Elizabeth Johnson Williams (1850-1922), whom he had met at the "Young Ladies Seminary;" she was a graduate of the Vassar class of 1869 who became a popular children's author of her period and many of whose whose works Champney illustrated. Born in Springfield, Ohio, Elizabeth Williams was the half-sister of Orson Bennet Williams (1834-1912) and daughter of Samuel Barnard Williams (1803-1884), originally of Deerfield, whose second wife was Caroline Johnson (d.1885) whom he married in 1844; the granddaughter of Elijah Williams (1767-1832) who married Hannah Barnard (1772-1853), daughter of Samuel Barnard (1721-1788) of Deerfield, in 1803; and great-granddaugher of Dr. Thomas Williams (1718-1775) of Deerfield. In 1876 the Champneys moved into Samuel Barnard Williams' house in Deerfield where Champney built a studio; they lived in Deerfield for several years while he was professor of art at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and one of the founders of the Smith Art Gallery. In 1879, Champney opened a studio in New York City, and from that time on the Deerfield became their summer home. James and Elizabeth had two children: Edward Frere (1874-1929) who studied art and became an architect, and Maria Mitchell (1876-1906) who was born in Deerfield, married John Sanford Humphreys in 1899, and was a miniature painter. Mrs. Elizabeth Champney gave this painting to Benjamin Zabina Stebbins (1865-1950) of Deerfield in 1921, which was later purchased from his daughter, Miss Marion Stebbins.
Label Text:
Champney exhibition: By 1876, the Champney family officially moved to Deerfield and resided in the Williams family homestead on Old Main Street, renamed “Elmstead.” While working in the town, Champney often looked to his own surrounding environment and family for subjects and models. This oil painting likely depicts Champney’s wife, Elizabeth Williams Champney, leisurely reading beneath a tree, while a young child, perhaps their daughter, Maria, feeds ducks in a nearby pond as shadows fall across the south yard of their property. The 18th-century architecture of the Williams homestead can be seen at the far left, along with the distinctive white picket fence of the rural main street, an apple orchard, and the Smead house in the distance. He incorporated the meandering dirt path to guide the viewer’s eye back toward the colonial house. In his images, the village of Deerfield offered moments of respite away from the demands of urban life and an antidote to the long-term horrors of the Civil War.
Tags:
children; mother and child Subjects:
Mother and child; Children; Canvas Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+63.352 |
