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Making Music Helped America’s Greatest Genre Painter

Well-loved American painter William Sidney Mount effectively captured the heart of rural Long Island life on canvas.
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Making Music Helped America’s Greatest Genre Painter
“The Power of Music,” 1847, by William Sidney Mount. Oil on canvas; 17 1/16 inches by 21 1/16 inches. Cleveland Museum of Art. Public Domain
Lorraine Ferrier
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On July 1, 1850, American artist William Sidney Mount (1807–1868) wrote in his diary: “I must paint such pictures as speak at once to the spectator, scenes that are most popular—that will be understood on the instant.”

Mount’s popular genre paintings capture the camaraderie of hardworking rural folk: jovial Long Island landowners, farmers, and farmhands tending crops, making hay and cider, and dancing, playing music, and merrymaking in bars, barns, and fields.

Lorraine Ferrier
Lorraine Ferrier
Author
Lorraine Ferrier writes about fine arts and craftsmanship for The Epoch Times. She focuses on artists and artisans, primarily in North America and Europe, who imbue their works with beauty and traditional values. She's especially interested in giving a voice to the rare and lesser-known arts and crafts, in the hope that we can preserve our traditional art heritage. She lives and writes in a London suburb, in England.