Artwork
The Letter
The Letter is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Gari Melchers. It dates from 1882 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: GARI J. MELCHERS. / PARIS. 1882
About this work
Technique & Style
The composition centers on a woman seated at a table, absorbed in reading a letter, with the letter’s paper rendered with delicate, translucent highlights.
The Letter is painted in oil on canvas and measures approximately 94.6 cm in height by 67.0 cm in width.
The handling emphasizes naturalistic light and quiet intimacy, with subdued tonalities that place the scene in a modest, softly lit interior. The composition centers on a woman seated at a table, absorbed in reading a letter, with the letter’s paper rendered with delicate, translucent highlights. The brushwork is restrained yet precise, capturing textures such as the woman’s dress and the table surface with careful, controlled strokes.
The palette is muted, dominated by earthy ochres, soft blues, and warm browns, reinforcing the contemplative mood of the scene.
The work exemplifies genre painting of the late 19th century, focusing on everyday life with a quiet, unidealized realism.
History & Provenance
Gari Melchers created the oil-on-canvas painting The Letter in 1882. The work entered the collection of Edward C. Walker (d. 1915) and his wife Mary Emma Griffin Walker by 1905, at which point it was lent to an exhibition at the Detroit Museum of Art from their private holdings. The couple bequeathed the painting to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington on May 4, 1937. The National Gallery of Art in Washington subsequently acquired the work in 2016.
The painting is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection following the 2016 acquisition of works previously bequeathed by Edward C. Walker and Mary Emma Griffin to the Corcoran Gallery of Art; its accession records reflect the 1937 bequest and the 2016 transfer. It was exhibited in April 1905 as part of the Exhibition of Paintings, Lent from the Private Collection of E. Chandler Walker, Esq., at the Detroit Museum of Art.
Context
The Letter is an 1882 oil on canvas genre scene by American painter Gari Melchers. Originally owned by Edward C. Walker and Mary Emma Griffin, the work remained in their Ontario and later Washington collections before being bequeathed to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1937; it entered the National Gallery of Art in 2016. The painting was lent for the 1905 Exhibition of Paintings, Lent from the Private Collection of E. Chandler Walker, Esq., at the Detroit Museum of Art, indicating early public interest.
As a representative example of late nineteenth‑century American genre painting, it illustrates Melchers’s realist approach and his engagement with contemporary domestic subjects, positioning the work within the broader narrative of American genre art.
Legacy
The Letter, an 1882 oil on canvas by Gari Melchers, is recognized as a representative example of American genre painting. Its inclusion in the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s collection, followed by acquisition by the National Gallery of Art in 2016, underscores its enduring scholarly and curatorial significance. The work was publicly displayed in 1905 at the Detroit Museum of Art, expanding its visibility during the artist’s lifetime.
Today, its presence in prominent U.S. institutions highlights its role in the historical narrative of 19th‑century genre scenes and informs ongoing research into Melchers’s oeuvre.
Overview
Gari Melchers's 1882 oil on canvas, "The Letter," depicts a quiet domestic scene. It shows two women in a dimly lit room, one engrossed in reading a letter by a window while the other stands nearby. The work exemplifies the artist's focus on everyday life and intimate human moments, characteristic of genre painting popular during the period.
Subject & Meaning
The painting centers on two female figures within a modest interior. One woman is seated, absorbed in the contents of a letter illuminated by natural light from a window. Her companion stands close by, holding a piece of fabric, her posture suggesting a shared moment of anticipation or reflection.
The scene evokes a sense of private communication and quiet contemplation, inviting viewers to ponder the letter's significance.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Julius Garibaldi (Gari) Melchers (August 11, 1860 – November 30, 1932) was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of naturalism. He won a 1932 Gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Untitled
In the Orphanage at Katwijk-Binnen
Three girls from the Amsterdam Orphanage
A Dutch lacemaker
Afternoon Nap
Evening in the Drawing Room. The Artist's Mother and Wife
Mary Gallen ompelee karjalaistuvassa
Sorteperspillerne
Sisarukset, Nelma ja Ilma
Grandmother with her granddaughter
Evening in the Drawing Room. The Artist's Mother and Wife- Pleasant Letter