Artwork of the Week: March 2018 (Week 11)

Daniel Ridgeway Knight (1839-1924), Premier Chagrin, 1892, oil on canvas, 60 x 47 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by Jack R. and Mary Lois Wheatley, 2000.

In honor of American artist Daniel Ridgeway Knight, born on March 15, we feature this beloved painting from our permanent collection, Premier Chagrin or (“The First Grief”). In the chill of a dwindling autumn afternoon, two peasant girls sit in the fields beyond their small village, one young friend gently consoling her companion in her grief. The work invites our reflection on this tender girl’s possible story and our own moments of tender heartache. The artist’s sentimental painting—a blend of narrative, nostalgia, and “simple” peasant life—won many awards and was featured in the prestigious Paris Salon of 1892.