The Wife of Robert Gordon – A Poem

There is so much going on here, not only in this painting, but in this painting’s title: The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in Their New York Dining-Room.

Robert Gordon was a banker, merchant, and art collector, and one of the founders of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The paintings on the walls here are his own collection of contemporary landscapes. The painting at the back under the antlers appears to be Sanford Robinson Gifford’s Tivoli (1870), which Gordon gifted to The Met in 1912.

Gordon married Frances Burton eleven years before the scene below was painted, Together they’d have six children, four of which, Henry, William, Frances, Mary (left-right, my assumption these were the eldest) are shown. Gordon went on to outlive Frances by thirteen years.

Clearly this painting was meant to capture a scene of lively domesticity, but my focus was on Frances.

The form here is an American cinquain. I deliberately wanted a spare structure to contrast with the abundance in the painting. More of my ekphrastic poetry here.

The Wife of Robert Gordon

Despite
a calm visage,
lips pursed, dulled eyes, Frances –
with silver, children, landscapes – feels
alone.

©elsp 2025

Here’s a close up.

You may also watch my YouTube version by clicking the link below.