Family Group

Charles Sheeler

Part of the American Art Collection

Living among the picturesque rolling hills and farms of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the barns and silos of the area were among Charles Sheeler’s favorite subjects. Sheeler appreciated them as examples of an American aesthetic characterized by honest, functional forms. The modern style of painting called Precisionism, which found beauty in clarity of form and carefully balanced compositions, was developed by Sheeler. The elements of the style can be seen here in Family Group - the subject is reduced to an almost two-dimensional composition of sharply delineated lines and shapes.