The Unpretentious Garden
Datec. 1903 - 1915
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 33 5/8 × 40 1/2 inches (85.4 × 102.9 cm)
Framed: 43 1/2 × 50 3/8 × 3 1/2 inches (110.5 × 128 × 8.9 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by the Button Gwinnett Autograph Fund.
Object number1916.5
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextGari Melchers is a pivotal figure in the distinguished history of the Telfair Museums. Melchers’ long association with the Telfair began in 1903 when he wed Corinne Mackall, whose uncle was president of the Telfair Board of Trustees. Serving as the museum’s fine arts advisor from 1906 to 1916, Melchers collected more than seventy works for the Telfair’s permanent collection, including most of the museum’s treasured impressionist paintings.
An excellent example of Melchers’ own adaptation of the impressionist style, The Unpretentious Garden also serves as a keen reminder of his association with the Telfair. The artist’s wife, Corinne, is depicted sewing in the garden of the couple’s home in Egmond, Holland, where Melchers lived and worked from 1884 to 1915. There, he and artist George Hitchcock created the first critically acclaimed paintings of their careers, many inspired by the daily lives of their Dutch neighbors.Subject MatterGari Melcher's Home, School Street, Egmond aan den Hoef, Netherlands (formerly Holland)