The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in Their New York Dining-Room
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
24 5/8 x 29 1/2 in. (62.5 x 74.9 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Gift of William E. Dodge, by exchange, and Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1992
Accession Number
1992.128
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the cozy intimacy of Seymour Joseph Guy's *The Contest for the Bou: The Family of Robert in Their New York Diningoom* (1866), an oil-on-canvas gem capturing a lively moment of Victorian family joy. This American genre painting depicts the Gordon family—women and children gleefully competing for a bouquet amid the elegant furnishings of their New York dining room. At 24⅝ × 29½ inches, its modest scale draws viewers close, immersing them in the scene's warmth and playfulness. Painted just after the Civil War, the work reflects the era's rising optimism and middle-class prosperity in u...