A Surprise Party

1888

John George Brown American, 1831-1913

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Title A Surprise Party

Artwork Date 1888

Artist John George Brown

Life Dates 1831-1913

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 25 × 20 inches (63.5 × 50.8 cm) Framed: 39 × 34 × 5 inches (99.1 × 86.4 × 12.7 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department American Art before 1950

Credit Detroit Museum of Art Purchase

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 88.1

Markings

Signed Signed, lower left: Copyright | J. G. Brown N.A.

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

1888-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

“John G. Brown.” Harper’s Weekly 24 (June 12, 1880): p. 373.

Sheldon, George W. American Painters. New York, 1881, pp. 141-144.

_______________. Hours with Art and Artists. New York, 1882, pp. 148-152.

Benjamin, Samuel G. W. "A Painter of the Streets." Magazine Of Art 1, 5 (1882): pp. 265-270.

Catalogue Of Painting And Sculpture: Opening Exhibition. Exh. cat., Detroit Museum of Art. Detroit, 1888, no. 24.

Catalogue Of Paintings, Water Colors, Drawings, Etchings, and Collection Of Corean Antiquities: Second Exhibition. Exh. cat., Detroit Museum of Art. Detroit, 1889, p. 8, no. 11.

McClinton, Katherine M. "John George Brown: Sentimental Painter of the American Scene." Connoisseur 200 (April 1979): pp. 242- 247 (fig. 9).

Burns, Sarah. Pastoral Inventions: Rural Life In Nineteenth-Century American Art And Culture. Philadelphia, 1989, pp. 310-311.

American Paintings In The Detroit Institute Of Arts Volume 2. New York, 1997, pp. 31-33 (ill.).

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