Artwork
Moonlight
Moonlight is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Julian Alden Weir. It dates from 1905 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: J. Alden Weir
About this work
Technique & Style
Its subject is a tree rendered under moonlight, and the painting is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.
Moonlight is an oil painting executed on canvas, a medium consistent with Julian Alden Weir's broader practice of the period. The work measures 61 cm in height by 50.8 cm in width, a modest upright format suited to an intimate nocturnal subject. Its subject is a tree rendered under moonlight, and the painting is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The sources confirm only the basic technical and material facts, oil on canvas, dimensions, and the depicted motif, and do not describe handling, brushwork, palette, surface condition, or stylistic classification in any specific terms.
History & Provenance
The work was commissioned or created in 1905 by Julian Alden Weir and depicts a tree. It was likely purchased from the artist by Newman Emerson Montross in New York. Montross sold the painting in 1908 to Hugo Reisinger, whose estate consigned it to the American Art Association sale in New York on 18 January 1916 (lot 8).
It next belonged to Aaron Augustus Healy of Brooklyn, passing by inheritance to his wife, Theodosia Healy, who sold it at the American Art Association on 23 March 1939 (lot 72). Chester Dale acquired it and, in 1954, gifted the painting to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Julian Alden Weir's 1905 painting Moonlight is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it was accessioned in 1954 as a gift from Chester Dale. The work's provenance traces back to its probable purchase by Newman Emerson Montross from the artist, followed by a 1908 sale to Hugo Reisinger of New York. After Reisinger's death, the painting was sold at his estate auction at the American Art Association on January 18, 1916, to A. Augustus Healy.
It subsequently passed to his wife, Theodosia Healy, and was sold at her estate auction at the same venue on March 23, 1939, before entering Dale's collection. The provided sources detail this ownership history but do not list specific exhibition records for the work.
Overview
Julian Alden Weir's painting, Moonlight, executed around 1905, captures a nocturnal scene in oil on canvas. The composition centers on a solitary tree, rendered against a luminous sky. This work exemplifies Weir's interest in depicting the subtle atmospheric effects of evening light, a recurring theme in his oeuvre.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents a stark silhouette of a tree, its dark form contrasted with a softly radiant sky. Delicate streaks of silver paint suggest moonlight catching the upper branches, while the ground below remains largely obscured in deep shadow. This choice of subject reflects Weir's particular affinity for observing and rendering the transient beauty of twilight and post-dusk landscapes.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Julian Alden Weir was an American impressionist painter and member of the Cos Cob Art Colony in Greenwich, Connecticut.
