The Money Diggers
John Quidor
American Art
Early ethnic stereotypes animate this painting based on one of the American author Washington Irving’s raucous stories of life in colonial New York. In this scene from “The Adventure of the Black Fisherman,” three money-mad characters hunt for treasure supposed to have been buried in a Dutch New York cemetery at the time of the British takeover. In painting the miserly Dutchman, the sinister German sorcerer, and the superstitious black fisherman who led the group to the spot, John Quidor followed Irving’s descriptions exactly, down to the green lenses in Dr. Knipperhausen’s glasses.
MEDIUM
Oil on canvas
DATES
1832
DIMENSIONS
15 15/16 x 20 15/16 in. (40.5 x 53.2 cm)
frame: 23 x 28 1/8 x 3 1/4 in. (58.4 x 71.4 x 8.3 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed right center: "J. Quidor Pinxt / N. York June, 1832."
COLLECTIONS
American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
48.171
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair Bradley Martin
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
John Quidor (American, 1801–1881). The Money Diggers, 1832. Oil on canvas, 15 15/16 x 20 15/16 in. (40.5 x 53.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair Bradley Martin, 48.171 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 48.171_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 48.171_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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