TitleSheep Washing on Long Island
Artist
Charles Henry Miller
(1842 - 1922)
Date1874
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 20 3/8 × 34 in.
Framed: 33 5/8 × 47 7/8 × 5 1/4 in.
SignedSigned lower right: "Chas. H. Miller. 1874"
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number865-P
Label TextSheep Washing, along with the larger High Bridge from Harlem Lane, of 1873 (private collection), constituted Miller's well-received contribution to the 1875 NAD Annual. It was generally acknowledged in the press that Miller's election as an Academician was based on the strength of these works, particularly the High Bridge.Academy records indicate that the location of Sheep Washing is Alley Pond, at Little Neck Bay, Long Island. The soft focus and silvery highlights of the trees bespeak the influence and Barbizon predilections of his German teacher, Adolf H. Lier. In parts, the paint appears merely sponged onto the canvas. Unlike many dim paintings in the Barbizon mode, however, Sheep Washing is bright and vibrant in color and light.
