Table of Contents

• I. First Works in Detroit, 1878-1879
• II. Military History Paintings 1880-1887
• III. The Paris Paintings, 1887-1890
• IV. Works for publisher, George Barrie, 1892-1893
• V. Portraits, 1880-1904
• VI. Drawings and Illustrations, 1880-1909
• VII. Sculpture
• VIII. Later Military Works, 1895-1900
• IX. Genre Works and Final Paintings, 1895-1908
• X. The Book
• XI. Photographs

Madonna and Child, 1904

Courtesy of the Owner

Vital Statistics

Alternate title: The Nativity
30 x 24¾ inches
Signed and dated lr: “Wm. T. Trego 1904”
Private Collection

Commentary

Trego’s next door neighbor, Elizabeth “Bessie” Pickering, posed for this work holding the infant Robert Hooley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Hooley of North Wales. Begun in 1903, this was the first of several versions of this subject Trego did in the last years of his life and the only one of his several religious paintings which can be located today. Compared to some of Trego’s other late paintings, which bear evidence of a disinterested artist, this work demonstrates a keen interest in both the subject matter and the details of the scene. Several passages in this painting are arguably some of the finest Trego ever achieved, among them the wonderful look on the baby’s face, the photographic realism of the terra cotta vessels and the convincing appearance of the water in the bowl. The high quality of this work makes it all the more unfortunate that Trego’s other religious paintings have not been located.

Provenance

Obtained from the artist by a daughter of his cousin, Howard Trego, it has been passed down through her family to the current owner.

Exhibitions

Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Mercer Museum, 1992: “Three Artists Named Trego.”

Doylestown, Pennsylvania, James A. Michener Art Museum, June 3-Oct 2, 2011: "So Bravely and So Well: The Life and Art of William T. Trego."

Condition

The painting is in excellent condition, having been cleaned before its appearance in the “Three Artists Named Trego” exhibit in 1992.

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