Mississippi Fisherman
George Caleb Bingham (American, 1811–1877)
c. 1850
View the original$19
Type
Size · in
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Materials & printing
Archival matte paper, 189 g/m² (10.3 mil), sourced from Japan, printed with multicolor water-based inkjet so every brushstroke stays crisp. Framed prints arrive ready to hang in a .75″ ayous-wood frame with an acrylite front. Sized to standard frames by cropping, never stretching — at most about 3% comes off one edge, which isn’t noticeable on most pieces, and we only offer a size when it stays that small.
Shipping & returns
Made to order and delivered in 5–8 business days (2–4 to print, 3–4 in transit). US shipping only for now. Because each print is made for your order, all sales are final — but if it arrives damaged or defective, send us a photo within 14 days and we’ll replace it free. Full policy.
Why is it this affordable?
A thin, flat margin on every piece — just enough to keep the store running. Most of what you pay is the print itself. We only sell sizes that reproduce at full quality, and we don’t mark up the large sizes the way most shops do.
About this work
George Caleb Bingham portrayed a man quietly fishing in a secluded spot, delineating the figure and environs with controlled brushwork. Raised in Missouri, Bingham specialized in genre paintings of white working-class boatmen who facilitated the brisk movement of commercial goods along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers in the mid-19th century. Here, the figure’s loose-fitting shirt, boots, and hat convey his role as a laborer in the area’s river economy.
Achieving a national reputation as an artist, Bingham also engaged in politics, holding positions in Missouri state government. During the 1850s he was a staunch advocate for the preservation of the Union and spoke out against slavery. Focusing on everyday activities that transpired along interregional waterways, Bingham reinforced the critical ties between west and east, north and south, amid a disquieted nation.
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 74.9 × 62.5 cm (29 1/2 × 24 5/8 in.)
Museum record · 1 owner · 5 exhibitions
Provenance
- William P. Thomas (1826–1883), Missouri, brother of George Caleb Bingham’s second wife, Eliza K. Thomas Bingham (1830–1876); by descent to his wife Martha Ann Collins Thomas (1830–1928), Lake Charles, LA; by descent to her granddaughter May Cook Caldwell (1889–1963), Lake Charles, LA; with James Graham & Sons Gallery, New York, 1961; sold to Marshall Field V, Illinois and Florida, 1963; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2021.
Exhibitions
- Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, George Caleb Bingham 1811–1879, Oct. 79, 1967–Jan. 1, 1968; Cleveland Museum of Art, Jan. 14–Mar. 10, 1968; The Art Galleries, University of California at Los Angeles, Apr. 7–May 79, 7968.
- Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Romantic Vision in America, Oct. 9–Nov. 28, 1971.
- Evanston, IL, Terra Museum of American Art, Life in Nineteenth–Century America, Sept. 11–Nov. 15, 1981.
- Saint Louis Art Museum, George Caleb Bingham, Feb. 22–May 13, 1990; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, July 15–Sept. 30, 1990.
- Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX, Navigating the West: George Caleb Bingham and the River, Oct. 2, 2014– Jan. 18, 2015; Saint Louis Museum of Art, Feb. 22–May 17, 2015; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 15–Sept. 20, 2015.
