Mother and Child
Artist
Francis Coates Jones
(American, 1857–1932)
Datec. 1885
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsImage: 19 x 16 in. (48.3 x 40.6 cm)
Frame: 26 3/8 x 23 1/2 in. (67.0 x 59.7 cm)
Frame: 26 3/8 x 23 1/2 in. (67.0 x 59.7 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1999.80
SignedLower left: Francis C. Jones
InterpretationFrancis Coates Jones’s Mother and Child depicts a well-dressed mother and daughter seated in adjacent chairs, their attention fixed on a large, thin book, possibly a children’s picture-book, held upright in the child’s lap. The young reader is dwarfed by her high-backed chair, suggesting the development yet ahead for her. Soft light from above plays over such luxurious furnishings as richly patterned wallpaper and an oriental rug, evidence of the wealth that affords the mother leisure to devote to her daughter’s instruction. A small table in the background supports a sewing box and a crystal vase of white roses, perhaps symbolizing the complementary feminine ideals of domesticity and moral purity.
With such genteel genre scenes, or images of everyday life, Jones realized a quick success early in his career, in the mid-1880s. He was noted for the delicate detail of his interior settings, with their rich furnishings. Drawing on the iconic theme of mother and child, Jones’s painting presents a quiet scene of two figures physically immobilized in the act of reading.
With such genteel genre scenes, or images of everyday life, Jones realized a quick success early in his career, in the mid-1880s. He was noted for the delicate detail of his interior settings, with their rich furnishings. Drawing on the iconic theme of mother and child, Jones’s painting presents a quiet scene of two figures physically immobilized in the act of reading.
Life in 19th Century America, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, September 11–November 15, 1981. [exh. cat.]
Nineteenth Century Genre Painting from The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, November 15, 1985–January 12, 1986. [exh. cat.]
Domestic Bliss: Family Life in American Painting, 1840–1910, The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York (organizer). Venues: The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York, May 18–July 14, 1986; The Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum, Rochester, New York, August 17–November 30, 1986. [exh. cat.]
A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Life in 19th Century America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 24–September 6, 1987.
An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.
Americans and Paris, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine (organizer). Venue: Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, August 1–October 22, 1990. [exh. cat.]
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1992.
Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.
Domestic Bliss: Family Life in America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–June 22, 1997.
L'Héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]
Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]
Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940 (Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France and Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury (International Cultural Center), Crakow, Poland (organizers). Venue: International Cultural Center, Crakow, Poland, February 15–May 7, 2006. [exh. cat.]
Portrait of a Lady : peintures et photographies américaines en France, 1870–1915 (Portrait of a Lady: American Paintings and Photographs in France, 1870–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France and Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (organizers). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–July 14, 2008; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, September 25, 2008–January 5, 2009. [exh. cat.]
Nineteenth Century Genre Painting from The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, November 15, 1985–January 12, 1986. [exh. cat.]
Domestic Bliss: Family Life in American Painting, 1840–1910, The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York (organizer). Venues: The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York, May 18–July 14, 1986; The Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum, Rochester, New York, August 17–November 30, 1986. [exh. cat.]
A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Life in 19th Century America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 24–September 6, 1987.
An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.
Americans and Paris, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine (organizer). Venue: Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, August 1–October 22, 1990. [exh. cat.]
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1992.
Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.
Domestic Bliss: Family Life in America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–June 22, 1997.
L'Héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]
Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]
Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940 (Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France and Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury (International Cultural Center), Crakow, Poland (organizers). Venue: International Cultural Center, Crakow, Poland, February 15–May 7, 2006. [exh. cat.]
Portrait of a Lady : peintures et photographies américaines en France, 1870–1915 (Portrait of a Lady: American Paintings and Photographs in France, 1870–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France and Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (organizers). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–July 14, 2008; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, September 25, 2008–January 5, 2009. [exh. cat.]
Sokol, David M. Life in 19th Century America: An Exhibition of American Genre Painting. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Evanston, Illinois: Terra Museum of American Art, 1981. Text p. 39; ill. no. 66, p. 34 (black & white).
Edwards, Lee M. et al. Domestic Bliss: Family Life in American Painting, 1840–1910. (exh. cat., The Hudson River Museum). Yonkers, New York: The Hudson River Museum, 1986. Text pp. 23, 92; ill. p. 93 (black & white).
Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-92, p. 201 (color as Mother and Child Reading).
Marlais, Michael Andrew. Americans and Paris. (exh. cat., Colby College Museum of Art). Waterville, Maine: The Museum, 1990. Fig. 28, p. 30 (color as Mother and Child Reading).
Mother and Child, Francis Coates Jones. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1992. Ill. (black & white).
Breathnach, Sarah Ban. Mrs. Sharp's Traditions: Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations of Comfort and Joy. New York: Scribner, 2001. Image on dedication page (color).
Lévy, Sophie, et al. Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940/Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940. (exh. cat. International Cultural Center). Cracow, Poland: International Cultural Center, 2006. Ill. p. 89 (color).
Terhune, Anne Gregory, et al. Thomas Hovenden: His Life and Art. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. Text p. 159; ill. p. 159 (black & white).
Lecomte, Vanessa, editor. Portrait of a Lady : peinture et photographies américains (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny and Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2008. Text (checklist) p. 94.
Edwards, Lee M. et al. Domestic Bliss: Family Life in American Painting, 1840–1910. (exh. cat., The Hudson River Museum). Yonkers, New York: The Hudson River Museum, 1986. Text pp. 23, 92; ill. p. 93 (black & white).
Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-92, p. 201 (color as Mother and Child Reading).
Marlais, Michael Andrew. Americans and Paris. (exh. cat., Colby College Museum of Art). Waterville, Maine: The Museum, 1990. Fig. 28, p. 30 (color as Mother and Child Reading).
Mother and Child, Francis Coates Jones. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1992. Ill. (black & white).
Breathnach, Sarah Ban. Mrs. Sharp's Traditions: Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations of Comfort and Joy. New York: Scribner, 2001. Image on dedication page (color).
Lévy, Sophie, et al. Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940/Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940. (exh. cat. International Cultural Center). Cracow, Poland: International Cultural Center, 2006. Ill. p. 89 (color).
Terhune, Anne Gregory, et al. Thomas Hovenden: His Life and Art. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. Text p. 159; ill. p. 159 (black & white).
Lecomte, Vanessa, editor. Portrait of a Lady : peinture et photographies américains (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny and Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2008. Text (checklist) p. 94.
Jesse Armel, New York
Paul Armel, New York (son of Jesse Armel)
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1981
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1999
