The Burnish Sisters
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 90.2 x 101.8 cm (35 1/2 x 40 1/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Accession Number
1980.62.18
Art Historical Context
William Matthew Prior's *The Burnish Sisters* (1854) is a charming double portrait capturing two young sisters in the distinctive folk art style that defined Prior's career as a 19th-century itinerant painter in New England. Rendered in oil on canvas this 35½ × 40¹/₁₆-inch work exemplifies the accessible portraiture Prior pioneered alongside collaborators like his brother-in-law, William S. Partridge. With its bold, flat colors, sharp outlines, and minimal shading, the painting reflects a deliberate "primitive" aesthetic—affordable and quickly produced for middle-class families eager to commem...