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Margarette A. Jones by William Turner Dannat

William Turner Dannat · 1894-01-01

William Turner Dannat's "Margarette A. Jones" (1898) is a portrait that broke a career. Now in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the painting was met with public outrage when it debuted in New York.

Look at the throat. Dannat used the pale expanse of skin as the painting's primary light source, demonstrating his mastery of flesh tones against a dark ground. That luminous bareness, framed by a severe dark collar and upswept hair, was exactly what critics seized on.

Dannat was an American painter who had trained in Munich and Paris, building a respectable reputation with Spanish genre scenes. This portrait of a society woman, rendered in a strict profile with soft, almost tactile brushwork, was meant to be a serious academic statement. Instead, it was denounced as indecent. The outcry was severe enough that Dannat left the United States for Paris, where he remained for the rest of his life. He never exhibited in America again.

A century later, the scandal is hard to see. What reads today as restrained elegance was, in its own moment, a line crossed. What do you see when you look at her?

Details

Look at the throat. The skin is luminous, almost bare.
Look at the throat. The skin is luminous, almost bare.
The scandal broke Dannat's career in America.
The scandal broke Dannat's career in America.
He left for Paris and never exhibited here again.
He left for Paris and never exhibited here again.
Late-Victorian coiffure detail , the escaping tendrils humanize the formality of the pose and signal fashion-conscious sitter.
Late-Victorian coiffure detail , the escaping tendrils humanize the formality of the pose and signal fashion-conscious sitter.
High dark collar creates a strong tonal bracket that throws the pale throat into relief , a deliberate compositional device.
High dark collar creates a strong tonal bracket that throws the pale throat into relief , a deliberate compositional device.
Transcript

In 1898, this portrait was too much for New York. Her name was Margarette A. Jones. Look at the throat. The skin is luminous, almost bare. Critics called the portrait an indecent exposure of flesh. The scandal broke Dannat's career in America. He left for Paris and never exhibited here again.