Study for "Communion of the Sick"
Classification
figures
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Bequest of Erskine Hewitt
Accession Number
1942-50-49
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Daniel Huntington (1816–1906), a leading American painter of the 19th century, crafted this *Study for "Communion of the Sick"* between 1844 and 1845, during his formative years abroad in Europe. Born in New York and trained at the National Academy of Design, Huntington traveled to Italy around 1842, immersing himself in Renaissance masterpieces. This preparatory work, classified as a figure study, likely captures the solemn ritual of administering last rites or communion to the ill—a poignant religious theme reflecting mid-19th-century interests in spirituality and human vulnerability. As a ...