1807 -1868 · Long Island and birth of the American genre scene

Long Island dancers, musicians and workers make William Sidney Mount a subtle witness to the rhythms and tensions of rural America.

William Sidney Mount was born in Setauket, Long Island, in 1807 and died in the nearby village of Stony Brook in 1868. After his father's death, he grew up in a family of artisans and musicians. As a teenager, he learned sign painting from his brother Henry in New York, an experience which gave him a taste for clear silhouettes and immediately readable gestures. He then studied at the National Academy of Design, of which he was one of the first students, and began with portraits and historical subjects. He then studied at the National Academy of Design, of which he was one of the first students, and began with portraits and historical subjects. He soon chose the genre scene, still little recognized in young American painting. Returning to live on Long Island, Mount drew his subjects from farms, the taverns, barns, local elections and neighborhood meetings. His art looks familiar, but it is carefully constructed. The characters respond to each other with their looks, their feet and their hands; tools, doors and furniture organize the space like a stage. Passionate about music, Mount plays the violin, collects popular tunes and even invents an instrument, the "craddle of harmony". The Dance of the Wanderers reflects this sensitivity: rural work is interrupted and bodies find a common rhythm in the music. The Power of Music is more complex. A violinist plays in a barn for white listeners while a black man has been listening ever since the exterior; the opening that separates them becomes both a sound crossing and a social border. Mount frequently depicts African-American figures with an individuality unusual for his time, although his images remain caught in the political and racial contradictions of pre-Civil War America. A sought-after portraitist, observer of electoral campaigns and witness to rural transformation, he retains a deep roots on Long Island throughout his life. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting combines humor, narrative precision and attention to sound to make ordinary life a national subject. His painting Power of music. Its reading favors space.

At Mount, music crosses the barn and the painting: it brings bodies together while revealing the boundaries of society.