Oct 25, 2021
MWW Artwork of the Day (10/25/21) Ferdinand Keller (German, 1842–1922) Bezahlung (The Payment)(1883) Oil on canvas, 56.5 x 46 cm. Private Collection
Keller gained his fame primarily through decorative painting, but he, like many other German artists of the period, supplemented his income by producing genre paintings -- especially one of tavern scenes, like this one -- to satisfy the demand for such from the newly wealthy of Gilded Age America. This particular painting, in fact, could easily be mistaken for one by the American antebellum genre painter William Sidney Mount (1807-1868), whose works were highly sought-after at the time. (A decent selection of Mount's works can be found in the MWW "Americana 2" gallery.)
