Artwork
The Trousseau
The Trousseau is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Charles Webster Hawthorne. It dates from 1910 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The square format of the canvas centers the figure and her handiwork, reinforcing the contemplative nature of the scene.
The Trousseau depicts a woman engaged in sewing, capturing a quiet, domestic moment of needlework. The subject of a woman sewing traditionally evokes themes of domesticity, patience, and the careful preparation of a trousseau, the collection of clothing and linens a bride assembles in anticipation of marriage. By focusing on this intimate act of craftsmanship, Hawthorne presents the labor and devotion underlying such a rite of passage, elevating an everyday task into a meditation on feminine duty and the rituals surrounding matrimony.
The square format of the canvas centers the figure and her handiwork, reinforcing the contemplative nature of the scene.
Technique & Style
The Trousseau is an oil painting executed on canvas. The work is square in format, with both height and width measuring 101.6 cm. Its medium is recorded as oil paint, and it is classified as a painting. The composition depicts a woman engaged in sewing, a subject rendered through Hawthorne's handling of the oil medium on a uniform square support.
History & Provenance
The Trousseau was created in 1910 by American artist Charles Webster Hawthorne. Executed in oil on canvas, the painting measures 101.6 cm in height and 101.6 cm in width and depicts a seated woman engaged in sewing. The work’s inception date is recorded as 1 January 1910.
It is presently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued as part of the museum’s holdings. No earlier owners or commission details are documented in the available sources.
The Trousseau is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work is recorded in the museum's catalogue with no publicly disclosed accession number; the internal entry only notes the title, artist, date of 1910, medium of oil paint, and classification as a painting. Its dimensions are 101.6 cm by 101.6 cm, matching the recorded height and width.
Exhibition records are not mentioned in the available documentation, indicating that the painting has not been featured in publicly listed exhibitions up to the present.
Overview
Charles Webster Hawthorne, an American painter known for his genre scenes and portraits, completed The Trousseau in 1910. This oil painting captures a domestic scene, characteristic of his work in the American Impressionist style. It is currently housed in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a significant example of early 20th-century American art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Webster Hawthorne (January 8, 1872 – November 29, 1930) was an American portrait and genre painter and a noted teacher who founded the Cape Cod School of Art in 1899.
- The Jewel
Evening in the Drawing Room. The Artist's Mother and Wife
Flowers of the Field
Girl at her toilet
Unge kvinder. Fra venstre: Karen Bramsen; kunstnerens hustru Esther, f. Lange; Johanne Munch-Petersen.
His only pair
Laundresses
Ranskalaisia silittäjiä
Evening in the Drawing Room. The Artist's Mother and Wife
New England Interior
Unge kvinder. Fra venstre: Karen Bramsen; kunstnerens hustru Esther, f. Lange; Johanne Munch-Petersen.
Interior
