Portrait of a Lady

Object Details

• Artist

  Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849-1921)

• Label

  Freer purchased this painting in 1910 and lent it to an exhibition of works by Thayer, Dewing, Tryon, and Whistler at the Montross Gallery in New York early in the year. This exposure prompted praise from critic Royal Cortissoz, who noted "the sensuous charm of the sitter's white drapery and the blue background against which it is set." Writer and artist Guy Pène du Bois, struck by the white and blue of the head study, described it as "remarkably radiant, rich and full." The identity of this hauntingly pretty woman is unknown.

  Quotations from Royal Cortissoz, Four Painters.A Brilliant Exhibition of American Art, New York Herald Tribune, February 13, 1910, and Guy Pène du Bois, Whistler, Tryon, Dewing and Thayer Contribute to a Remarkable Collection, New York American, February 14, 1910, Charles Lang Freer's scrapbooks, Charles Lang Freer Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

• Provenance

  To 1909

  Miss Margaret McKim, New York to 1909 [1]

  From 1909 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Miss Margaret McKim, New York in 1909 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Object file.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] 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

  Pretty Women: Freer and the Ideal of Feminine Beauty (August 13, 2005 to September 17, 2006)

  American Art - Abbott Handerson Thayer (May 9, 1996 to June 30, 1997)

  American Painting: To Dream of Fair Women (September 24, 1982 to February 29, 1984)

  American Paintings: Abbott Handerson Thayer 1849-1921 (December 11, 1976 to April 18, 1977)

  American Paintings (July 1, 1974 to December 5, 1975)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 8 and 9 (February 25, 1956 to April 28, 1958)

  Special Centennial Exhibition of Thayer Paintings (August 12, 1949 to January 3, 1950)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, Gallery 3, 1947 (September 25, 1947 to April 12, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, Gallery 4, 1947 (September 25, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings (May 1, 1933 to February 6, 1944)

  American Painting, Abbott H. Thayer (May 2, 1923 to March 23, 1925)

  Exhibition of Paintings by Abbott H. Thayer (April 24 to May 28, 1919)

  Exhibition of Paintings by T.W. Dewing, A.H. Thayer, D.W. Tryon, J.A.McNeill Whistler (February 10 to 26, 1910)

  The Fifth Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists (May 11 to September 1, 1910)

  The First Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists (May 31 to September 2, 1906)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Miss Margaret McKim (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1900s, 1890s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, McKim, Margaret

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art, Portraits, Woman

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings