Art versus Law
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
According to its first owner, who acquired the work from David Gilmour Blythe, Art versus Law “portray[ed] a true incident in the life of the artist.” Blythe showed himself arriving, canvases and brushes in hand, at the door to the attic studio on which he owed rent, only to find it padlocked by his landlord and posted “TO LET. ON GOOD SECURITY.” The artist, clearly lacking any “security,” is dressed in tattered clothes and worn boots. On the barrel to his right and in the wood box at the left are broken and empty bottles, which suggest the cause of Blythe’s distressed situation.
Caption
David Gilmour Blythe (American, 1815–1865). Art versus Law, 1859–1860. Oil on canvas, frame: 33 × 29 × 2 in. (83.8 × 73.7 × 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.907. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Art versus Law
Date
1859–1860
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
frame: 33 × 29 × 2 in. (83.8 × 73.7 × 5.1 cm)
Signatures
Signed lower left: "Blythe"
Credit Line
Dick S. Ramsay Fund
Accession Number
40.907
Frequent Art Questions
Can you tell me more about this painting?
This is "Art versus Law" by the American Artist David Gilmour Blythe. It was painted between 1859 and 1860. Blythe created satirical and sardonic paintings based on the political and social situations he found when he moved to Pittsburgh in the 1850s. Here, an artist has just realized that he's been locked out of his own studio because he fell behind on his rent payments! The landlord has already started advertising for a new tenant. Some things never change -- it's hard to be a "starving artist"!Thanks!
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