Studies of a Well and Wooden Trough
c. 1870-1900
Medium
watercolor and gouache over graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 27.31 × 38.42 cm (10 3/4 × 15 1/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of J. William Middendorf, II)
Accession Number
2015.19.2676
Art Historical Context
Enoch Wood Perry, Jr (1831–1915), a prominent American genre painter, created *Studies of a Well and Trough* around 1870–1900. This intimate drawing captures the humble textures of rural life—a weathered stone well and a sturdy wooden trough—rendered in watercolor and gouache over graphite on wove paper (27.31 × 38.42 cm). Perry, trained in Düsseldorf and Paris, often depicted everyday scenes with a keen eye for realism, blending meticulous detail with subtle atmospheric effects, reflecting the era's fascination with vernacular American landscapes amid rapid industrialization. The mixed-media...