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Dec 10, 2010

The Devil and Tom Walker

1856

John Quidor

(American, 1801–1881)

America, 19th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 84 x 104 x 8.5 cm (33 1/16 x 40 15/16 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 68.8 x 86.6 cm (27 1/16 x 34 1/8 in.)

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1967.18

Location

not on view

Description

An eccentric and cantankerous man, John Quidor achieved fame in his lifetime for paintings of banners and fire engines, none of which survive. Today he is remembered for a series of fantastic, grotesque paintings based on the stories of Washington Irving (1783-1859)-a series whose exuberant style differs from the general run of American genre paintings, which tend to be more understated in mood and realistic in style. The Devil and Tom Walker belongs to this curious group of works. It portrays a scene from Irving's Tales of a Traveler (1824), in which Tom Walker, who was "not a man to be troubled with any fears," encounters the Devil while on an evening outing.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed lower center: "J. Quidor / N.Y. 1856"

Provenance

Thomas B. Carroll (New York sale 1895); Henry T. Chapman, (1895 New York sale 1913); Douthitt Gallery; Albert Duveen, New York, 1943; Joseph Katz, Baltimore; M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1954; L.A. Fleishman, Detroit; Kennedy Galleries, New York

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 184 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 230 archive.org

Exhibition history

New York, American Art Association, Hon. Thomas B. Carroll Sale (1895) cat. no. 321.

Brooklyn, NY, Brooklyn Museum, Opening Exhibition (1897) cat. no. 551.

New York, Anderson Galleries Henry T. Chapman Sale (1913) cat. no. 57.

Brooklyn, NY, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, John Quidor, 1801-1881 (23 January-8 March 1942) listed cat. no. 12, p. 52 as Rip Van Winkle Reaches the Gnomes; not illus.

Montclair, NJ, Montclair Art Museum, Art in New Jersey from 1776-1876 (1945) cat. no. 37.

Detroit, MI, Detroit Institute of Arts, Collection in Progress: Selections from the Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman Collection of American Art (1955) illus. cat. no. 6, p. 12.

U.S.I.A. Tour of South America (1957-58) no. 7.

U.S.I.A. Tour of Greece and Israel (1958) cat. no. 10, p. 9.

Milwaukee, WI, Milwaukee Art Center, American Painting 1760-1960 (3 March-3 April1960) illus. p. 62.

Tucson, AZ, University of Arizona Art Gallery, Selections from the Lawrence A. and Barbara Fleischman Collection of American Painting 1765-1963 (1 February-29 March 1964) illus. cat. no. 82, illus. p. 66.

Utica, NY, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, John Quidor (19 December 1965-January 23 1966); traveled to New York, Whitney Museum (2 November-5 December 1965); to Rochester, Rochester Memorial Art Gallery (6 February-6 March 1966); Albany, Albany Institute of History and Art (20 March-24 April 1966) illus. cat. no.13, p. 43; listed p. 42.

Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=The Devil and Tom Walker|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1967.18|author=John Quidor|year=1856|access-date=30 May 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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The Devil and Tom Walker

The Devil and Tom Walker

John Quidor

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