Reading the Scriptures

Reading the Scriptures



Reading the Scriptures
Artist:Thomas Waterman Wood (American, Montpelier, Vermont 1823–1903 New York)
Date:1874
Culture:American
Medium:Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on light tan wove paper
Dimensions:14 15/16 x 10 3/4 in. (38 x 27.3 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1966

Wood began his career as a portraitist, but shortly after moving to Tennessee in 1860, he began to specialize in paintings depicting the life of African Americans. Wood addresses here the theme of dawning literacy among newly emancipated former slaves. Via the reference to the Bible in the title, the artist associates the educational achievement with Christian virtue. Wood served as president of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors from 1878 to 1887.

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