Sunshine

Known as the “Boot Black Raphael,” John George Brown is among the most celebrated nineteenth-century genre painters. Born in Durham, England, Brown immigrated to New York in 1853 where he studied at the National Academy of Design. Following Brown’s debut of his 1860 painting His First Cigar, lithographers began to reproduce his work, galvanizing his career. The present work may have initially been painted as an exhibition piece and shown at the National Academy of Design in 1879. A lyrical depiction of Victorian leisure, Sunshine illustrates Brown's fascination with light and atmosphere, particularly prevalent in his early career.

Sunshine is both a stunning depiction of 19th-Century life and a reflection of Brown's keen observation of his milieu. Of the present work, J.G. Brown scholar Martha Hoppin writes, "Sunshine, with its brilliant light, casual composition, and broad technique, resembled [Winslow] Homer's earlier paintings of women outdoors." (The World of J.G. Brown, Chesterfield, Massachusetts, 2010, p. 104) Indeed, Brown was likely familiar with the other American master's work, as both kept studios in New York. Further, "the population growth in the cities after the Civil War also encouraged people to plan outdoor excursions...By placing his contemplative young lady within the context of an outing at the beach, Brown acknowledged both the romantic and the prosaic aspects of American life in that era." (S.T. Hufford, in National Gallery of Art, American Paintings from the Manoogian Collection, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C, 1989, p. 136)