John George Brown (American, 1831–1913)Anticipating the Perfect MomentSigned and inscribed 'J.G. Brown. N.A.' bottom right, oil on canvas30 x 20 in. (76.2 x 50.8cm)Executed circa 1897.PROVENANCE:The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction, Hayden, sale of July 26, 1997, lot 296.Acquired directly from the above sale.Private Collection, Colorado.EXHIBITED:(Possibly) Boston, Massachusetts, February 1898.LITERATURE:Boston Daily Globe, February 14, 1898, no. 3.Boston Herald, February 11, 1898 (described as "a boy in the act of making a wet snowball with the evident desire of throwing it at some victim on whom his eye is unmistakably fixed")NOTE:The present work is similar in composition and subject to Begging for a Fight, a watercolor now in the collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which Brown possibly exhibited at the January 1898 American Watercolor Society under the title Making a Soaker. The artist painted numerous snowball scenes throughout this career, often involving one boy in variations of this stance and theme (hiding behind a wall, getting ready to throw etc.).We wish to thank Dr. Martha Hoppin for confirming the authenticity of the present work, and for her kind assistance in cataloguing it.In 1882, Harper’s Weekly declared, "We have no more popular artist in American than J.G. Brown. He is more certain of his audience, and more direct on his appeal to it, than any other." One of the leading American artists of the late 19th century, Brown was indeed one of the most successful artists of his day, and very much a fixture in the New York art world. He made a name for himself through his compelling narrative, touching and often humorous representations of children. Such works resembled works by his contemporaries Winslow Homer and Eastman Johnson, but also recalled the careful observations and witty social satyres once exemplified by eighteenth-century British artists such as William Hogarth. Born in England, Brown often returned to British art, especially genre painting, which provided him with examples of broad humour and stock motifs he would often use throughout his career. The three present works are wonderful examples of Brown’s mastery at capturing the floating feeling of youth, a theme which he excelled at. From early mischiefs to young love, Brown focuses on the children’s blissful innocence and sweet candor, far away from the misery and viciousness often associated with urban life.