Facing the Enemy
Oil on canvas by the American painter Francis William Edmonds. This painting, owned by the Chrysler Museum, was first exhibited at the National Academy of Design, New York in 1845.
The scene depicts a joiner leaning back in his chair as he contemplates a decanter of spirits near the window. On the wall is a handbill advertising a Temperance Reform Meeting.
Edmonds was concerned that artisans were especially susceptible to alcoholism. His painting was engraved by Thomas Doney in 1847 to illustrate a sermonizing circular by the Temperance Society.