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George W. Brenneman

Crying, at a Desk, 1892

Description

Maker

  • George W. Brenneman, 1856-1906, American

Title

Crying, at a Desk

Year

1892

Medium

Pen and brush and ink over graphite on illustration board

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • ink,
  • graphite

Supports

  • Bristol board

Dimensions

40 x 31.8 cm (15 13/16 x 12 1/2 inches)

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Chase

Object Number

81.255.6

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Landscape and Leisure

March 13 - July 19, 2015

These atmospheric wash drawings by George Brenneman accompanied the song My Darling Nelly Gray, written more than 30 years earlier by Benjamin Hanby, a pastor and abolitionist in Ohio. Published in 1857, the song became popular among Union troops. It was based on the writer’s experience as a boy, when his parents hid a runaway slave named Joseph Selby in their home. Selby died soon after arriving, but told the story of his sweetheart, Nelly Gray, who had been sold away from their Kentucky plantation to Georgia. Stricken with grief, Selby ran away and was headed to Canada to earn money to buy Nelly Gray’s freedom when he died.

Brenneman’s appropriately sentimental vignettes were published along with a number of other illustrated songs in 1892, in a book titled Favorite Folk Ballads. The book was a nostalgic compilation of popular favorites from the past.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Crying, at a Desk with the accession number of 81.255.6. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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