| The Third-Class Carriage (New York) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Honoré Daumier |
| Year | c. 1862–1864 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65.4 cm × 90.2 cm (25.7 in × 35.5 in) |
| Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art,New York |
| The Third-Class Carriage (Ottawa) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Honoré Daumier |
| Year | c. 1863–1865 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65.4 cm × 90.2 cm (25.7 in × 35.5 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Canada,Ottawa |
| The Third-Class Carriage (San Francisco) | |
|---|---|
_by_Honore_Daumier.jpg) | |
| Artist | Honoré Daumier |
| Year | c. 1856–1858 |
| Medium | Oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 26 cm × 33.9 cm (10 in × 13.3 in) |
| Location | Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,San Francisco |
The Third-Class Carriage (French: "Le Wagon de troisième classe") is the name of at least three oil paintings entitled made by the French painterHonoré Daumier. In arealistic manner, Daumier depicts the poverty and fortitude of working class travellers in athird class railway carriage. One oil-on canvas version, dated toc. 1862–1864 but left unfinished, is in the collection of theMetropolitan Museum of Art inNew York, and a similar but completed painting dated toc. 1863–1865 is in theNational Gallery of Canada inOttawa. A third oil-on-panel version, dated toc. 1856–1858, with a different arrangement of the main three figures, is held by theFine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Daumier had drawn and painted images of rail travel since the 1840s, focussing on the people travelling rather than the conveyances. His series of lithographs,Les Chemins de Fer ("the railway") was published in the French magazineLe Charivari from 1843 to 1858, including prints published in December 1856 with the captions "Voyageurs appréciant de moins en moins les wagons de troisième classe, pendant l'hiver" ("Travellers showing less and less appreciation for travelling in third class in the winter") and "Intérieur d'un wagon de troisième classe pendent l'hiver" ("Interior of a third-class railway carriage in winter").
The paintings relate to Daumier's three watercolors with ink and charcoal, now in theWalters Art Museum in Baltimore - one for each of the first, second and third class carriages - which were commissioned in 1864 byGeorge A. Lucas forWilliam Thompson Walters. Three working drawings of the same subject have also survived, perhaps tracings, including one in theBibliothèque nationale de France. It seems two of the oil paintings were worked on concurrently, but the sequence of the paintings is not clear and the one in New York was left unfinished.
Daumier was best known as an illustrator, and his paintings remained unknown until an exhibition held byPaul Durand-Ruel in Paris in 1878, the year before Daumier's death.
The Third-Class Carriage evidences Daumier's interest, as also seen in his graphic works, in the lives of working-class Parisians. Third-class railway carriages were cramped, dirty, open compartments with hard wooden benches, filled with those who could not afford second or first-class tickets.
The versions in New York and Ottawa are both in oils on canvas, and measure 65.4 cm × 90.2 cm (25.7 in × 35.5 in). On the wooden bench seat facing the viewer are seated, from left, a woman nursing her baby, an older woman with her hands clasped atop a basket, and a young boy asleep. The figures may be intended to peasants, influenced byJean-François Millet. Seated behind them are anonymous rows of men and women.
The painting in New York is dated toc. 1862–1864 but remains unfinished. It is still squared for transfer, possibly from the Walters watercolor or another earlier work, with areas outlined in black. It was owned by the art dealerJ. Duz when it was exhibited at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1888. It was sold toPaul Durand-Ruel's gallery in Paris in 1892, and transferred to the New York branch the following year. It was sold in 1896 toM.C.D. Borden, and after his death in 1912 it was sold by his estate in 1913 for US$40,000 and acquired byLouisine Havemeyer, the wife ofH. O. Havemeyer. After her death in 1929, it entered the Met's collection in 1929 as part of theH. O. Havemeyer bequest.
The version in Ottawa is completed, signed on the baggage to the lower right, and dated toc. 1863–1865. It was owned by the art dealerHector Brame when it was shown at the Durand-Ruel exhibition in 1878.
It was acquired by the National Gallery of Canada in 1946 fromGordon Cameron Edwards. There are some small differences: the position of the man with the top hat against the window to the left, and the sleeping boy in the centre-right; the central woman with headscarf appears older in the version in Ottawa, whereas the man with blue headcovering to the far right appears younger in the Ottawa version. The details of the people in the background also differ.
The third version was acquired by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in 1996, using funds from several bequests.
Unlike the versions in New York and Ottawa, the version in San Francisco is oil on panel, and somewhat smaller, measuring 26 cm × 33.9 cm (10.2 in × 13.3 in). It was thought to have a later date, but the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco dates itc. 1856–1858.
The three principal characters are different from those in the other versions: an elderly woman whose eyes are closed and hands clasped in her lap; a bearded man in a suit holding his hat in his lap; and a young woman looking at the young child standing in front of her.
