Object Details
Artist
J. Alden Weir, born West Point, NY 1852-died New York City 1919
Sitter
Anna Baker Weir
Luce Center Label
J. Alden Weir taught painting classes in New York City while he cultivated his reputation as a portrait artist. Nineteen-year-old Anna Dwight Baker was one of his students, and after a brief courtship the two married in 1883. Anna Weir's friends variously described her as "ethereal," "like some beautiful dream woman," qualities her husband captured in this portrait of her with his subtle, impressionistic style. She leans forward in a black ladder-back chair, holding her dog, Gyp, in her lap. Just over her shoulder the bedroom door is ajar, providing the viewer with a more intimate glimpse into the private life of the artist. Anna Weir died in 1892 due to complications after the birth of the couple's fourth child. This touching, personal portrait remained in the family's collection until it was given to the American Art Museum in 1977. (Dorothy Weir Young, The Life & Letters of J. Alden Weir, 1960)
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mahonri Sharp Young
Date
ca. 1890
Object number
1977.92
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
22 x 17 3/8 in. (56.0 x 44.0 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 4B
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Animal\dog
Portrait female\knee length
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1977.92