{"object":[{"sourceId":{"label":"Source ID","value":"4038"},"altNumsArchivespace":{"label":"ArchiveSpace","value":["2013.24.14","P1.2001.34"]},"copyright":{"label":"Copyright","value":"The American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain."},"creditline":{"label":"Credit Line","value":"Gift of Ralph Esmerian"},"endDate":{"label":"End Date","value":"1836"},"sortNumber":{"label":"Sort Number","value":"2013     1   14"},"invno":{"label":"Accession number","value":"2013.1.14"},"description":{"label":"Description","value":"Double portrait of brother (LS) and sister (RS) seated at grain-paintd table in blue klismos-style chairs on geometric  and floral patterned band of carpeting, with romantic landscape surrounded by swags of evergreens on wall behind.  Young man wearing black suit w/light vest (P) left hand retrieving book from pile on table, (P) right hand holding open book on lap; top hat on table, center. Young woman wearing black dress with full sleeves and shawl with embroidered fringed border.  Apron with lace work on bottom. Open music book on table before her, vase of flowrs on table, potted flowers on floor below table."},"medium":{"label":"Medium","value":"Watercolor, pencil, and ink on paper"},"geographyPlaceregion":{"label":"Place/Region","value":"Strafford"},"media":{"label":"Media","value":{"mediaURL":"https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/3425/full","mediaDepartment":"Object Photographs","mediaType":"Image","mediaId":"3425"}},"title":{"label":"Title","value":"Sylvanus C. Foss and Mary Jane Foss"},"geographyCity":{"value":"Strafford"},"textEntriesWebsitedisplaytext":{"value":["Davis also painted Harriet T. Foss at the age of 23 in 1836. Sylvanus Cushman Foss born Dec 24 1819, Strafford Ridge, Strafford, NH, parents William and Sally Foss, married Lydia Drew Foss June 6 1839.","The complacency of middle-class Americans in the age of improvement is brilliantly captured by the artist Joseph H. Davis, who worked primarily in Maine and New Hampshire. Many of his sitters were members of the Freewill Baptist Church, a religious affiliation that is sometimes indicated by the presence of such attributes as the church\u2019s newspaper, the Morning Star. The northern branch of the Freewill Baptists was founded in New Durham, New Hampshire; Davis drew siblings Sylvanus and Mary Foss in nearby Strafford. The achievements of each are indicated through elements included in their portrait, Sylvanus the scholar and Mary Jane\u2019s musical proficiency. The material comfort of their lives is communicated through beautiful fancy furniture: the grain-painted table and the blue klismos chairs standing on a gaily colored carpet or floor cloth. Davis presents a similar picture of perfect equanimity in the many watercolors he painted between 1832 and 1837. The sitters, many of whom were related by marriage or proximity, are not distinguished by the perspicacity with which Davis limned their features. On the contrary, there is little individualization. Rather, Davis created a picture of community and cultural refinement through symmetrical arrangements of persons united by their comfortable and colorful homes, fine clothes, and tasteful art.Many of the drawings feature a finely calligraphed legend naming the sitters, date, and place; sometimes Davis included his own name and described himself as a \u201cLeft Hand Painter.\u201d Identifying the artist has proved to be difficult; he may be the Joseph Davis (1811\u20131865) who was born in Limington, Maine, and died in Woburn, Massachusetts.Stacy C. Hollander, \u201cSylvanus C. Foss and Mary Jane Foss,\u201d exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.　To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org","Double portrait of brother (LS) and sister (RS) seated at grain-paintd table in blue klismos-style chairs on geometric and floral patterned band of carpeting, with romantic landscape surrounded by swags of evergreens on wall behind.  Young man wearing black suit w/light vest (P) left hand retrieving book from pile on table, (P) right hand holding open book on lap; top hat on table, center. Young woman wearing black dress with full sleeves and shawl with embroidered fringed border.  Apron with lace work on bottom.  Open music book on table before her, vase of flowrs on table, potted flowers on floor below table."]},"collections":{"label":"Collections","value":"Works on Paper"},"geography":{"label":"Geography","value":"Strafford"},"pubreferences":{"label":"Published References","value":"Arthur and Sybil Kern,\"Joseph H. Davis: Identity Established,\" The Clarion Volume  14, Number 3 (Summer 1989) 49."},"id":{"label":"Id","value":"154797"},"geographyState":{"value":"New Hampshire"},"geographyCountry":{"value":"United States"},"onview":{"label":"On View","value":"0"},"people":{"label":"Artist / Maker","value":{"displayOrder":"1","personRole":"Artist","personID":"632","content":"Joseph H. Davis"}},"classifications":{"label":"Classification(s)","value":"Drawings"},"textEntries":{"label":"Text Entries","value":["Davis also painted Harriet T. Foss at the age of 23 in 1836. Sylvanus Cushman Foss born Dec 24 1819, Strafford Ridge, Strafford, NH, parents William and Sally Foss, married Lydia Drew Foss June 6 1839.","The complacency of middle-class Americans in the age of improvement is brilliantly captured by the artist Joseph H. Davis, who worked primarily in Maine and New Hampshire. Many of his sitters were members of the Freewill Baptist Church, a religious affiliation that is sometimes indicated by the presence of such attributes as the church\u2019s newspaper, the Morning Star. The northern branch of the Freewill Baptists was founded in New Durham, New Hampshire; Davis drew siblings Sylvanus and Mary Foss in nearby Strafford. The achievements of each are indicated through elements included in their portrait, Sylvanus the scholar and Mary Jane\u2019s musical proficiency. The material comfort of their lives is communicated through beautiful fancy furniture: the grain-painted table and the blue klismos chairs standing on a gaily colored carpet or floor cloth. Davis presents a similar picture of perfect equanimity in the many watercolors he painted between 1832 and 1837. The sitters, many of whom were related by marriage or proximity, are not distinguished by the perspicacity with which Davis limned their features. On the contrary, there is little individualization. Rather, Davis created a picture of community and cultural refinement through symmetrical arrangements of persons united by their comfortable and colorful homes, fine clothes, and tasteful art.Many of the drawings feature a finely calligraphed legend naming the sitters, date, and place; sometimes Davis included his own name and described himself as a \u201cLeft Hand Painter.\u201d Identifying the artist has proved to be difficult; he may be the Joseph Davis (1811\u20131865) who was born in Limington, Maine, and died in Woburn, Massachusetts.Stacy C. Hollander, \u201cSylvanus C. Foss and Mary Jane Foss,\u201d exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.　To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org","Double portrait of brother (LS) and sister (RS) seated at grain-paintd table in blue klismos-style chairs on geometric and floral patterned band of carpeting, with romantic landscape surrounded by swags of evergreens on wall behind.  Young man wearing black suit w/light vest (P) left hand retrieving book from pile on table, (P) right hand holding open book on lap; top hat on table, center. Young woman wearing black dress with full sleeves and shawl with embroidered fringed border.  Apron with lace work on bottom.  Open music book on table before her, vase of flowrs on table, potted flowers on floor below table."]},"beginDate":{"label":"Begin Date","value":"1836"},"inscribed":{"label":"Inscribed","value":"Below carpet band, across bottom in black ink calligraphic hand: (LS) \"Sylvanus C. Foss. Painted at the age of 17. Decembr 24th\"; (center) \"PAINTED/AT/STRAFFORD-/RIDGE.   APRIL 13TH 1836\"; (RS) \"Mary Jane Foss. Painted at the age of 24 May 6th\""},"displayDate":{"label":"Date","value":"1836"},"exhibitions":{"label":"Exhibitions","value":[{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Tuesday, December 11, 2001 - Sunday, June 2, 2002","exhibitionEndISODate":"2002-06-02","exhibitionID":"207","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2001-12-11","exhibitionBeginDate":"2001","exhibitionTitle":"American Radiance","exhibitionEndDate":"2002"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - Sunday, August 17, 2014","exhibitionEndISODate":"2014-08-17","exhibitionID":"171","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2014-05-13","exhibitionBeginDate":"2014","exhibitionTitle":"Self-Taught Genius","exhibitionEndDate":"2014"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Friday, January 21, 2022 - Monday, September 5, 2022","exhibitionEndISODate":"2022-09-05","exhibitionID":"251","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2022-01-21","exhibitionBeginDate":"2022","exhibitionTitle":"MULTITUDES","exhibitionEndDate":"2022"}]},"altNums":{"label":"Alternative Numbers","value":["2013.24.14","P1.2001.34"]},"dimensions":{"label":"Dimensions","value":"Sheet: 10 3/4 x 15 \" (27.3 x 38.1 cm)Frame: 19 x 23 x 1 \" (48.1 x 58.6 x 2.5 cm)"}}]}