William Verplanck Birney [1858-1909]
United States
Asleep with the sun, ca.1883
Oil on canvas
16 x 12 inches [unframed] | 26 x 22 inches [framed]
Signed at lower right : ‘W. Verplanck Birney’.

CONDITION:
No repairs. Unrestored original condition with original period frame.  Frame appears to have loss of decoration and a crude fix in the past.

DESCRIPTIONS:
Exhausted from cleaning, the young girl in William Verplanck Birney’s [1858-1909] Asleep with the sun, ca.1883 is a delicate portrait of taking a break. His ability to convey a complete story and real human emotion is unparalleled among genre artists. Birney’s specialty was showing the moments between like Between sets [of tennis]. Asleep with the sun, ca.1883 may be the painting A quiet corner, ca.1883 which was shown at the International exhibition of Munich in 1883.

PROVENANCE:
2008 ( David Smernoff, New Haven, CT & New York, NY ) ;
before 2008 Private collection of [withheld], Milford, CT
ca.1883 William Verplanck Birney [1858-1909], the artist .

EXHIBITIONS:
2020 David Smernoff, New York, NY, “Tiny moments : the life of genre painting”, November 15 – December 31.