catalog text
BRITISH SCHOOL (19TH CENTURY)
Feeding Chickens
Oil on canvas | Unsigned, circa late 19th century
Item # 105VVP14Q
A wonderful nostalgic scene that depicts a young girl in the countryside on a farm surrounded by chickens that have gathered at her feet hungrily pecking at the grains she scatters for them. In the distance a few birds are making their way towards her, but the girl's attention is totally riveted by the pigeon standing on her shoulder. It is a complex and truly magnetic picture with a rich rendering of the figures using soft shadows and a very strong light to introduce a certain frantic energy among the birds. The large scene is housed in the substantial original giltwood frame with an acorn-and-oak-leaf design surrounding the bold cove molding.
Measurements: 28" H x 36 1/4" W [canvas]; 40 1/2" H x 48" W x 4 1/8" D [frame]
Condition Report:
Relined on linen. Light surface craquelure throughout. Bright surface overall, likely cleaned in the last two decades and remaining a good presentation. Speck losses of paint in upper left corner where two birds are flying in the sky (losses in blue and white bird). Under UV examination there is light scattered overpainting around the extreme edges of the painting and one nickel-sized spot of inpainted repair in the tree to the left of the girl. Frame is original to the painting with a loss to some of the applied gesso decoration (notably the lower left edge) and loss of some gilded beading.