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Lot Essay
At the close of the nineteenth century, Thomas Wilmer Dewing painted some of the most enigmatic and elegant images of women produced by any American artist. Often solitary, Dewing's women present a standard of beauty that was often remarked upon by the artist's contemporaries, who found in them a high degree of refinement and an aesthetic ideal. As noted by Susan Hobbs, "Dewing's artfully posed figures and subtly related color harmonies evoke a dream world in which time and logic play no role. They demonstrate his contention that the purpose of the artist is to see 'beautifully.'" (The Art of Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Beauty Reconfigured, Brooklyn, New York, 1996, p. 1)
In the present work, dated 1887, Woman in Black: Portrait of Maria Oakey Dewing, the artist portrays his wife. As Susan Hobbs notes in a letter, dated February 12, 1992, discussing the picture, "the diminutive work is an example of the artist's small full-length portraits 'the size of one's hand' as critics at the time termed them. During the 1880s he was particularly known and praised for such painting. A noted painter in her own right, Maria Oakey Dewing was a talented woman of strong character--qualities suggested in her portrait by the aristocratic tilt of her head and her erect posture. Thomas Dewing's primary emphasis in this painting, however, is upon the decorative line of his wife's figure. Her profile pose from the back is clearly inspired by such well known portraits by James McNeill Whistler as Arrangement in Brown and Black: Portrait of Miss Rosa Corder of 1876-8 (The Frick Collection, New York) and Arrangement in Black: La Dame au Brodequin Jaune, of 1882-4 (Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA). Dewing similarly employed subtle color harmonies and fine gradations of related tones in this work as well, framing a black dress against a brown ground. Like Whistler, he applied his pigment in a thin, spontaneous manner throughout the gown--particularly the flowing fabric of his sitter's bustle. Such diaphanous color washes contrast well with the gleaming impasto of Maria's arms and face which Dewing modeled carefully in the academic manner which he had learned a decade earlier during his student years in Paris."
Perhaps more than any other person, Maria Dewing guided and advised her husband on artistic matters central to his paintings and pastels. Once, they even collaborated on a major oil entitled A Prelude, 1883 (unlocated). Having provided a lifetime of support and advice, she herself became a model in this work of Dewing's celebration of the modern, contemporary women in his art.
In the present work, dated 1887, Woman in Black: Portrait of Maria Oakey Dewing, the artist portrays his wife. As Susan Hobbs notes in a letter, dated February 12, 1992, discussing the picture, "the diminutive work is an example of the artist's small full-length portraits 'the size of one's hand' as critics at the time termed them. During the 1880s he was particularly known and praised for such painting. A noted painter in her own right, Maria Oakey Dewing was a talented woman of strong character--qualities suggested in her portrait by the aristocratic tilt of her head and her erect posture. Thomas Dewing's primary emphasis in this painting, however, is upon the decorative line of his wife's figure. Her profile pose from the back is clearly inspired by such well known portraits by James McNeill Whistler as Arrangement in Brown and Black: Portrait of Miss Rosa Corder of 1876-8 (The Frick Collection, New York) and Arrangement in Black: La Dame au Brodequin Jaune, of 1882-4 (Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA). Dewing similarly employed subtle color harmonies and fine gradations of related tones in this work as well, framing a black dress against a brown ground. Like Whistler, he applied his pigment in a thin, spontaneous manner throughout the gown--particularly the flowing fabric of his sitter's bustle. Such diaphanous color washes contrast well with the gleaming impasto of Maria's arms and face which Dewing modeled carefully in the academic manner which he had learned a decade earlier during his student years in Paris."
Perhaps more than any other person, Maria Dewing guided and advised her husband on artistic matters central to his paintings and pastels. Once, they even collaborated on a major oil entitled A Prelude, 1883 (unlocated). Having provided a lifetime of support and advice, she herself became a model in this work of Dewing's celebration of the modern, contemporary women in his art.