The Carnation
Object Details
- Label
- Dewing employed Julia Baird as the model for The Carnation, painting her as one might render a still life. This detachment was not meant as an adverse commentary on the role of women. Instead, he intended the work to evoke a state of mind as well as present an attractive image. Dewing had earlier painted figures with blue, yellow, and pink dresses. Here he emulated the white girls of Whistler. Another source for this pose was likely the recently discovered second-century terra-cotta statuettes found near the Greek town of Tanagra. Linear and elegant, they inspired Whistler, who kept photographs of them in an album for reference. These little sculptures inspired Dewing and Freer as well. Accordingly, a famous writer at the time called The Carnation "a modern Tanagra figure," thereby identifying a mere model with the classical past.
- The queenly woman, her slender neck echoing the long-stemmed carnation she holds, contemplates, perhaps, the passing of time and fading of beauty. Striking a similar attitude in front of his completed work, the artist seems immersed in the same sort of sad reverie.
- Quotation from Sadakichi Hartmann, History of American Art, vol. 1 (Boston: L. C. Page and Co., 1902), 307
- Provenance
- From 1894 to 1919
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Thomas Wilmer Dewing during 1893 and 1894 [1]
- From 1920
- Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]
- Notes:
- [1] According to Curatorial Remark 4, Linda Merrill, March 22, 1993, as well as information found in the Provenance field and object file.
- [2] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Dewing’s Poetic World (November 27, 2019 to May 29, 2022)
- A Perfect Harmony (October 14, 2017 to October 8, 2023)
- Pretty Women: Freer and the Ideal of Feminine Beauty (August 13, 2005 to September 17, 2006)
- American Art - Thomas Wilmer Dewing (May 9, 1993 to February 20, 1996)
- American Paintings (March 20, 1981 to September 24, 1981)
- Thomas Wilmer Dewing (June 19, 1980 to March 18, 1981)
- American Paintings (October 14, 1978 to March 18, 1981)
- American Paintings (November 11, 1976 to October 12, 1978)
- American Paintings: Thomas Wilmer Dewing (December 11, 1976 to April 16, 1977)
- Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 8 and 9 (February 25, 1956 to April 28, 1958)
- Special Dewing Centennial Exhibition (May 17, 1951 to July 1, 1951)
- Comparative Exhibition of Native and Foreign Art at the Galleries of the American Fine Arts Society (November 15 to December 11, 1904)
- Pan-American Exposition, Exhibition of Fine Arts (May 1 to November 2, 1901)
- Loan Collection of Paintings by Mr. T.W. Dewing (February 27 to March 20, 1900)
- An Exhibition of Paintings by T.W. Dewing (January 24, 1898 to February 10, 1898)
- Fifteenth Annual Exhibition, Society of American Artists, 1893 (April 17 to May 13, 1893)
- The Sixty-Third Annual Exhibition (December 18, 1893 to February 24, 1894)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) (C.L. Freer source)
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Charles Lang Freer
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- 1893
- Accession Number
- F1896.33a-b
- Artist
- Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938)
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Oil on wood panel
- Dimensions
- H x W: 50.7 x 39.7 cm (19 15/16 x 15 5/8 in)
- Origin
- United States
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Topic
- flower
- woman
- United States
- American Art
- Charles Lang Freer collection
- Record ID
- fsg_F1896.33a-b
