The Four Sylvan Sounds

Object Details

• Artist

  Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938)

• Label

  In 1896 Freer purchased his first two Japanese folding screens from Matsuki Bunkyō, a Japanese art dealer based in Boston. Later that same year, Thomas Dewing began to paint a pair of bifold screens, now known as The Four Sylvan Sounds. In creating the screens, Dewing combined an eclectic array of artistic sources within a decidedly Japanese format. The screens are even “read” from right to left, as is typically done with Japanese screens. According to the artist, the panels represent “the four forest notes—the Hermit Thrush, the sound of running water, the woodpecker, and the wind through the pine trees.”

• Provenance

  From 1897 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Thomas Wilmer Dewing in 1897 [1]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Object file.

  [2] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Freer’s Global Network: Artists, Collectors, and Dealers (October 15, 2022 - ongoing)

  Sylvan Sounds: Freer, Dewing, and Japan (May 18, 2013 to January 4, 2015)

  Surface Beauty: American Art and Freer's Aesthetic Vision (February 23, 2008 to August 1, 2010)

  Art for Art's Sake (July 23, 1997 to January 24, 2008)

  Choice Spirits: Works by Thomas Dewing and Dwight Tryon (March 9, 1996 to July 7, 1997)

  American Art - Thomas Wilmer Dewing (May 9, 1993 to February 20, 1996)

  Thomas Wilmer Dewing (January 3, 1985 to May 7, 1985)

  Thomas Wilmer Dewing (June 19, 1980 to March 18, 1981)

  American Paintings (May 31, 1979 to June 17, 1980)

  American Paintings: Thomas Wilmer Dewing (December 11, 1976 to April 16, 1977)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• On View

  Freer Gallery 09: Freer’s Global Network

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Dewing, Thomas Wilmer

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Xylophone, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art, Music, Flute

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings

• On View

  Yes