1899
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Portrait of Mary Adeline Williams is a 1899 oil by Thomas Eakins, a American Impressionism work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
You see a woman sitting in a chair, looking straight at you. She's dressed in old-fashioned clothes and has a serious expression. The artist painted her in a way that makes you wonder what she's thinking, and it's interesting that he knew her personally, which might have helped him get her personality into the painting. Check out the work of Thomas Eakins.
Thomas Eakins aimed to paint the human figure with uncompromising realism, executing likenesses that focus on introspection and psychological depth. A family friend, Mary Adeline Williams sat for this portrait in 1899, a year before she would move into the Philadelphia home of Eakins and his wife, artist Susan MacDowell Eakins. Although the composition presents Addie (as she was known) as straight-laced and severe, she was described by Susan Eakins as active and engaged—riding bicycles, going to art exhibitions, and socializing between the sittings for this work.
Thomas Eakins, from 1899 to 1916; Eakins Estate/Susan Macdowell Eakins, from 1916 to 1939; Babcock Galleries, New York City, 1939; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1939.
New York City, Kleeman Gallery, Thomas Eakins, Oct. 31–Nov. 25, 1939, cat. 6, as Lady in Black. Milwaukee Art Institute, WI, Six Centuries of Portrait Masterpieces, Oct. 2–Nov. 15, 1942, as Woman in Black, Mary Adeline Williams. IL, Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest College, A Century of American Painting: Masterpieces Loaned by The Art Institute of Chicago , June 10–16, 1957, no. 13, as Addie, Woman in Black . Art Institute of Chicago, Two Centuries of American Art, 1750-1950 , Oct. 1, 1959–Jan. 10, 1960, no cat. [downloadable checklist available]. Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art,…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator.
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