The Land of Evangeline
- Date
- 1874
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- United States, North and Central America
- depicts
- Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- American Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 336
- Dimensions
- 33 1/8 x 45 1/8 in. (84.1 x 114.6 cm)
framed: 40 1/2 x 52 5/8 x 3 3/8 in. (102.9 x 133.7 x 8.6 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Wright Prescott Edgerton in memory of Dr. and Mrs. W. T. Helmuth by exchange
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 163:1946
NOTES
Identifiable details mark this landscape—cypress trees laden with Spanish moss, swamp goldenrod, palmetto, cattail rushes, yellow pond lilies, and trumpet creeper. The scene, however, is not historical but rather literary. It is taken from the then-wildly popular poem Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie (1847), written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem follows an engaged couple who become separated during the British expulsion of the French from Acadie (Nova Scotia) to Louisiana in 1755. In the center of the landscape, Evangeline rests from her desperate search for Gabriel. Tragically, she finds him only many years later, when he is ill from an epidemic and dies in her arms.
While serving in the Navy during the Civil War, artist Joseph Meeker sketched the swamps and bayous along the lower Mississippi River. These sketches became inspiration for later paintings, like this one, created in St. Louis after the war.
While serving in the Navy during the Civil War, artist Joseph Meeker sketched the swamps and bayous along the lower Mississippi River. These sketches became inspiration for later paintings, like this one, created in St. Louis after the war.
Provenance
Joseph W. Branch, Saint Louis, Missouri, purchased from the artist
by 1935 -
Mr. and Mrs. Price Lane, Saint Louis, Missouri, by inheritance from Joseph W. Branch [1]
- 1946
Mrs. Cornelia G. Turner, Seattle, Washington, acquired from Mrs. Price Lane [2]
1946 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Mrs. Cornelia G. Turner [3]
Notes:
The main sources for this provenance are the notes of a telephone conversation between Mrs. Cornelia G. Turner and Mr. Perry Rathbone of the Saint Louis Art Museum on June 6, 1946 [SLAM document files].
[1] Mrs. Price Lane (previously Mrs. C. K. Garrison) inherited the painting from her father, Joseph W. Branch. According to the Saint Louis Art Museum accession record, Mr. and Mrs. Price Lane lent the painting to the Museum in 1935 [SLAM document files].
[2] Mrs. Cornelia G. Turner was the daughter of Mrs. Price Lane.
[3] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 5, 1946.
by 1935 -
Mr. and Mrs. Price Lane, Saint Louis, Missouri, by inheritance from Joseph W. Branch [1]
- 1946
Mrs. Cornelia G. Turner, Seattle, Washington, acquired from Mrs. Price Lane [2]
1946 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Mrs. Cornelia G. Turner [3]
Notes:
The main sources for this provenance are the notes of a telephone conversation between Mrs. Cornelia G. Turner and Mr. Perry Rathbone of the Saint Louis Art Museum on June 6, 1946 [SLAM document files].
[1] Mrs. Price Lane (previously Mrs. C. K. Garrison) inherited the painting from her father, Joseph W. Branch. According to the Saint Louis Art Museum accession record, Mr. and Mrs. Price Lane lent the painting to the Museum in 1935 [SLAM document files].
[2] Mrs. Cornelia G. Turner was the daughter of Mrs. Price Lane.
[3] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 5, 1946.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.