Artwork
A Street in Ikao
A Street in Ikao is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Theodore Wores. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
A steep, narrow street of old wooden houses leaning close, their roofs thick with dark shingles. A woman and child walk down wide stone steps as laundry hangs overhead. Theodore Wores painted it in 1898 with quick, rough strokes in earthy browns, greens, and muted blues.
Subject & Meaning
These figures are arranged along a paved pathway that leads past the house, creating a domestic urban setting.
The work portrays a street in the Ikao area, featuring a house, a woman, and a child within the scene. These figures are arranged along a paved pathway that leads past the house, creating a domestic urban setting. Theodore Wores rendered the composition in oil on panel in 1895; the painting is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection and is displayed in New York. The depiction emphasizes ordinary domestic activity within a specific locale.
Technique & Style
A Street in Ikao is executed in oil paint, applied to a panel support rather than canvas. The work is classified as a painting and dates to 1895. The composition depicts a street scene featuring houses, women, and children, consistent with Wores's plein-air observations made during his travels in Japan.
The use of a panel support suggests a relatively compact, portable format suited to on-site sketching and studio refinement. The oil medium allows for the layering and tonal modulation characteristic of late nineteenth-century expatriate painting practice.
History & Provenance
A Street in Ikao is an oil painting on panel created by Theodore Wores in 1895. The work was classified as a painting at the time of its execution and depicts a street scene with a house, a woman, a child, and the surrounding street. Following its creation, the painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has been housed since its accession, with the museum recording an inception date of 1895‑01‑01. No earlier ownership records or commissioning details are documented in the available sources.
The painting A Street in Ikao (1895) by Theodore Wores is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Its presence in the museum's catalog is recorded as an oil on panel work depicting a house, a woman, a street and a child. The work is listed under the museum's inventory as part of the Theodore Wores collection, though no separate accession number is provided in the available documentation.
Exhibition records are not mentioned in the source material, indicating that the painting has not been featured in publicly listed exhibitions within the scope of the referenced sources.
Overview
Theodore Wores, an American painter, created "A Street in Ikao" in 1898 using oil paint. This work captures a daily scene from his extensive travels, which included Japan, Germany, Hawaii, and Samoa. The painting is recognized for its Impressionistic qualities and is part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Theodore Wores (August 1, 1859 – September 11, 1939) was an American painter. He was from San Francisco, and travelled extensively including periods in Germany, Japan, Hawaii, and Samoa.
