English: The Pride of the Village

Artist: Henry Peters Gray (American, New York 1819–1877 New York) Date: 1858–59 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 30 1/4 x 25 1/4 in. (76.8 x 64.1 cm) Classification: Paintings Credit Line: Gift of William Church Osborn, 1949

This picture, based on Washington Irving’s sentimental story of the same name, concerns a beautiful and simple country lass, indeed the pride of the village, who fell in love with an army officer. When he was transferred to another post and asked that she accompany him, her virtuous mind was so stricken by this indecorous suggestion that she pined away, surrounded by her devoted family. Here we see her in her decline, possibly “thinking of her faithless lover?—or were her thoughts wandering to that distant churchyard, into whose bosom she might soon be gathered?”