Messrs. Shepherd Brothers

active c. early 20th century

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A butter-yellow sky fills the top two-thirds of this square landscape painting while in the bottom third, a brown structure is surrounded by golden yellow and pine-green forms like clouds. The scene is loosely painted with visible brushstrokes, so much of the detail is indistinct, and the view seems hazy. Clouds spiral around the sun or moon, painted as a pale yellow disk, hanging in the center of the sky. The golden yellow clouds near the center darken to slate gray then rust brown, and nearly wine red along the top edge. A flock of birds painted as a dense band of navy and denim-blue Vs curve around the sun and continue into the deep distance. Below, touches of burgundy red and brown could indicate people or animals around the arched, copper-brown structure. Cloud-like puffs in forest green and golden yellow could be a forest or wildly crashing waves. A few faint outlines in this area suggest a bear, crocodile, giraffe, and maybe other ghostly creatures.
Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Evening of the Deluge, c. 1843, oil on canvas, Timken Collection, 1960.6.40

The Evening of the Deluge

Joseph Mallord William Turner · c. 1843 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1960.6.40

Shown from the lap up and shaded entirely in tones of golden yellow, laurel green, and black, a pale-skinned woman cradles a small, furry dog in her arms in this vertical portrait. The woman’s body is squared toward us, and she looks directly out with slate-blue eyes. She has an oval face with a delicate nose, long chin, and her pale pink lips are closed in a slight smile. Her brown hair is pulled back under a tan-colored hat lined on the underside with translucent cloth and on the top with sage-green ribbons or ruffles. A choker of thumbnail-sized pearls encircles her neck. Her dress has a deep V in the front and the elbow-length sleeves end with layers of lacy ruffles. Curving black lines suggest a pattern on sheer black fabric that covers pale yellow and frosty green stripes of the bodice. The dog has long, light-colored fur and a dark, bead-like nose and eyes. Vines grow up and from the top of a stone column in the background to the right, and the rest of the shallow space is filled with shrubs and plants. A bright yellow spot near the top left corner suggests a strong light source coming from that area, which casts her face in a diffuse shadow under the hat’s brim.
Anonymous Artist, Miss Nelly O'Brien, early to mid nineteenth century, oil on canvas, Widener Collection, 1942.9.76

Miss Nelly O'Brien

Anonymous Artist · early to mid nineteenth century · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1942.9.76