Charles Deas
Walking the Chalk

ArtistAmerican, 1818–1867
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Walking the Chalk
Date1838
PlaceUnited States
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 17 3/8 × 21 3/8 in. (44.1 × 54.3 cm)
Frame: 27 5/8 × 31 7/8 × 3 1/4 in. (70.2 × 81 × 8.3 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Agnes Cullen Arnold Endowment Fund
Object number2007.740
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
108 Hevrdejs Gallery
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
American Art
Object Type
Description

Here, in a drinking game called "walking the chalk," a drunkard is challenged to see whether he is sober enough to walk in a straight line marked on the tavern floor. The work brilliantly expresses two major themes that dominated early American genre paintings: the growing concern about divisions between the North and South in the pre-Civil War years, and the social interactions among ordinary Americans in public places.


 This lively tavern scene by American painter Charles Deas is rich with hidden meanings that audiences would have understood in the 1830s. The figure of the con man "thumbs his nose" (as much a sign of indignation in the 19th century as it is today) and invites the viewer to question the scene as a scam. Although commonly a sign of fidelity, the slouched dog may refer to the popular phrase "drunk as a dog," raising concerns about the excessive consumption of alcohol that would culminate in the temperance movement. The issue of slavery is suggested by the presence of the African American straddling the line, expressing the mounting apprehensions about national unity and balance as states entered the Union as either slave-holding or free. Such is the stuff of 19th-century American genre paintings that their potential meanings may be endlessly discussed and debated, the very feature of U.S. democracy that this art form aimed to celebrate.


 


ProvenancePrivate collection, Montreal, 1926; thereafter by descent in family to present owner, 1989, Nova Scotia.
Exhibition History"Annual exhibition," National Academy of Design, New York, 1839.

"Charles Deas: Telling Tales to 1840's America," Denver Art Museum, August 14–November 14, 2010.

"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 7, 2012–January 2, 2013.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed left center: "TJERCK BRINK / INN"
Signed in the image, lower right: "C. Deas. 1838."
Printed back labed with label text in ink: "Debra Forcé / FINE ART, INC. / 14 East 73rd Street Suite 4B / New York, NY 10021 / Telephone 212 734-3636 / Fax 232 734-1042 / CHARLES DEAS / "WALKING THE CHALK" / 1838 / OIL ON CANVAS / ... / DF928."

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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