The Property of Daniel and Sarah Leibelsperger, Fleetwood, Berks County, Pennsylvania

Maker Ferdinand A. Brader (Swiss, 1833 - 1901)

Collections

ClassificationsDRAWINGS

Date1882

Mediumgraphite on wove paper

Dimensionsframe: 33 1/2 x 54 x 1 1/4 in. (85.1 x 137.2 x 3.2 cm.)

DescriptionA detailed pencil drawing depicting a prosperous, late-nineteenth century Pennsylvania German farmstead by Ferdinand A. Brader, an itinerant artist; Inscribed recto, pencil: THE PROPERTY of DANIEL and SARAH LEIBELSPERGER, FLEETWOOD BERKS COUNTY, PENNA: 1882!.

InscribedInscribed recto, pencil: THE PROPERTY of DANIEL and SARAH LEIBELSPERGER, FLEETWOOD BERKS COUNTY, PENNA: 1882!

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Jonathan and Karin Fielding

Status

On view

Label TextBy 1880, the farm population in America represented nearly half of the country's total labor force; there were over 4 million farms, with an average size of 134 acres. A well-maintained and prosperous Pennsylvania German homestead, the Leibelsperger property is depicted in Brader's drawing as an idyll of order and good management. On the left is a large two-story barn decorated with traditional painted hex signs. On the right is the solid family residence, set among fenced yards, orchards, and outbuildings. Brader was a Swiss immigrant itinerant artist who worked in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Catering to industrious immigrant families proud of their success, he made hundreds of pencil drawings of homesteads throughout the region, often large-scale, rendered with accuracy and charm.

Object number2016.25.98