The Sisters

Frank von der Lancken spent summers in New Milford, Connecticut, from around 1900 until 1904. The fresh air and slower pace offered a welcome break from the pressure of exhibiting and teaching in New York City. This portrait of his mother and aunt shows the two French sisters quietly sewing in the cool shade of a porch, the sun-drenched Connecticut fields behind them. The composition allowed von der Lancken to show off his skills at both landscape and figural painting. The scene of women sewing on the porch of a tidy, well-built farmhouse highlighted the artist’s belief in craft. Von der Lancken taught at many progressive art schools, where his teaching was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement’s revival of traditional techniques.