Josephine and Mercie, 1908 Edmund Charles Tarbell (1862-1938)

We create our paintings with museum quality and covering the highest academic standards. Once we get your order, it will be entirely hand-painted with oil on canvas. All the materials we use are the highest level, being totally artist graded painting materials and linen canvas.

We will add 1.6" (4 cm) additional blank canvas all over the painting for stretching.

High quality and detailing in every inch are time consuming. The reproduction of Edmund Charles Tarbell also needs time to dry in order to be completely ready for shipping, as this is crucial to not be damaged during transportation.
Based on the size, level of detail and complexity we need 8-9 weeks to complete the process.

In case the delivery date needs to be extended in time, or we are overloaded with requests, there will be an email sent to you sharing the new timelines of production and delivery.

TOPofART wants to remind you to keep patient, in order to get you the highest quality, being our mission to fulfill your expectations.

We not stretch and frame our oil paintings due to several reasons:
Painting reproduction is a high quality expensive product, which we cannot risk to damage by sending it being stretched.
Also, there are postal restrictions, regarding the size of the shipment.
Additionally, due to the dimensions of the stretched canvas, the shipment price may exceed the price of the product itself.

You can stretch and frame your painting in your local frame-shop.

Once the painting Josephine and Mercie is ready and dry, it will be shipped to your delivery address. The canvas will be rolled-up in a secure postal tube.

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The paintings we create are only of museum quality. Our academy graduated artists will never allow a compromise in the quality and detail of the ordered painting. TOPofART do not work, and will never allow ourselves to work with low quality studios from the Far East. We are based in Europe, and quality is our highest priority.

Josephine sits at a writing desk in the left foreground, head bowed over her paper, while Mercie reclines to the right, absorbed in her book. Each figure is rendered with deliberate precision, quietly animating this tranquil interior. The gentle interplay of lamplight and daylight through the windows softens the scene, suggesting that the world inside the house is one of thoughtful repose. The viewer’s attention is initially drawn to the seated figures in white, whose dresses harmonize with the cream-hued curtains, unifying the interior elements into a cohesive, almost intimate, domestic tableau.

The walls, painted in muted green, provide a contemplative backdrop against which the crisp whites of the figures’ dresses glow with a subdued radiance. This color choice avoids any jarring contrast, instead lending a sense of continuity that underscores the painting’s serene ambiance. Subtle transitions between light and shadow, especially around the window frames and the large lamp, heighten the impression of an afternoon caught in a timeless moment. The carefully modulated palette suggests the influence of European Impressionism, adapted here to capture the refined sensibilities of a New England home.

Tarbell’s brushwork is controlled yet lively, eschewing overt flourishes in favor of an even-handed approach that maintains clarity. The textures of wood, fabric, and skin are suggested with gentle, layered strokes, revealing an artist invested in capturing the nuanced qualities of his surroundings. This technique also contributes to the sense of quiet reflection pervading the composition. Visually, the painting is orchestrated through diagonal sightlines - from Josephine’s bent figure to Mercie’s reclining form, and further echoed in the furnishings and window frames. These diagonals guide the viewer’s gaze seamlessly from the writing desk to the reading figure, reinforcing an understated sense of unity within the space.

Created during a period of rapid transformation in New England, the painting reflects an era that prized domestic virtues even as broader social structures evolved. The interior scene, suffused with gentle light, celebrates literacy and leisure as hallmarks of an enlightened household. The dresses, echoing the lacy drapery of the windows, evoke a Colonial Revival aesthetic that idealizes continuity with a historic American past. At the same time, the gentle realism employed underscores that these are living, breathing figures rather than stock allegories. Through subtle attention to domestic detail, the work captures a moment of cultural self-definition - a glimpse of tranquil family life during a time of accelerating change.