Twelve men, women, children, and babies are arranged on or around a couch in this horizontal portrait painting. The features and clothing are simply painted, so some of the faces are a bit generic. They all have pale skin with rosy cheeks, and all but one of them have blue eyes. The slate-blue couch is centered against a wall mottled with copper brown, golden yellow, and sage green. Three adults sit on the couch. To our left, a man wearing a black suit and stockings leans against the arm of the couch so his body faces our right in profile, his legs crossed. He turns to look at us with a…
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The Cheney Family

American 18th Century

c. 1795

Medium
oil on canvas
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
overall: 49 x 65 cm (19 5/16 x 25 9/16 in.) ; framed: 64.5 x 80 x 7.3 cm (25 3/8 x 31 1/2 x 2 7/8 in.)
Culture
American
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CAB
Credit line
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art