Portrait of a Lady Holding a Rose

Among Thomas Wilmer Dewing’s numerous images of solitary women in uncluttered interiors, Portrait of a Lady Holding a Rose most clearly reveals the artist’s debt to Japanese aesthetics. The flattening effect of the sitter’s profile pose against a background wall, the Japanese hanging scroll and the small ceramic vase on the table, and the kimono-like effect of the woman’s unstructured, wide-sleeved garment all evoke Japan and Japanese art, with its subtle, reductive aesthetic and its deliberate asymmetry. Pose and composition also clearly recall the famous Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Artist’s Mother by American expatriate painter James McNeill Whistler. Dewing worked briefly with Whistler in London in 1895 and greatly admired the work of the older artist, whose revolutionary doctrine of “art for art’s sake,”  deeply informed by Japanese aesthetics, elevated formal values over moral or narrative content. A fascination for Japanese art united Dewing and Whistler with their common patron, Detroit industrialist Charles Lang Freer (1856–1919), an avid collector of Asian art. For critic Charles H. Caffin (1854–1918), writing in 1908, Dewing’s art blended the abstraction of Asian aesthetics with the concrete realism of the Western tradition in a thoroughly modern union of intellect and sensuality.

Dewing’s model for Portrait of a Lady Holding a Rose was actress Gertrude McNeill, whom he painted in several works between 1911 and 1917. While Dewing usually showed his tall, slender subjects wearing fashionable evening dress to reveal their graceful throats, shoulders, and arms, McNeill is enfolded in a deep green dressing gown, her left hand gathering the fur-trimmed collar at her breast. The plain background, the diffused light, and the sitter’s idle, contemplative stillness and lack of engagement with the viewer are typical of Dewing’s works, in which object and image partake equally of aristocratic refinement and ethereal beauty. Dewing’s title for this work underscores the detachment, even aloofness, of its subject; indeed, Portrait of a Lady Holding a Rose is less a portrait, as a representation of the subject’s individual social or psychological persona, than an arrangement of objects purely for harmonious effect.

Portrait of a Lady Holding a Rose is complemented by its original frame, a distinctive grille-type designed by architect Stanford White (1853–1906), the painter’s close friend. The frame, coated with a dull gold finish known as Roman bronze, features fine lattice-work relief that stands out from the base molding for a soft, shimmering effect. This type of frame was known as the “Dewing frame,” for the artist used it on the majority of his later works.

Special Exhibition of Recent Pictures, Montross Gallery, New York, New York, April 9–20, 1912, no. 4 (as Lady Holding a Rose). [exh. cat.]

Paintings in Hartford Collections, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut (organizer). Venue: Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, January 22–February 20, 1936, no. 41 (as Woman in Green). [exh. cat.]

A Loan Exhibition, Thomas Dewing, 1851–1938, Durlacher Brothers, New York, New York (organizer). Venue: Durlacher Brothers, New York, New York, March 26–April 30, 1963, no. 18 (as Lady in Green). [exh. cat.]

American Art from Alumni Collections, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut (organizer). Venue: Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, April 25–June 16, 1968, no. 130 (as Lady in Green). [exh. cat.]

From Realism to Symbolism: Whistler and His World, Department of Art History and Archaeology of Columbia University, New York, New York, in cooperation with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venues: Wildenstein & Co., New York, New York, March 4–April 3, 1971; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 15–May 23, 1971 (as Lady in Green). [exh. cat.]

The Arts of the American Renaissance, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York (organizer). Venue: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York, April 11–May 31, 1985 (as Lady in Green). [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, July 19–September 14, 1985.

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987 (as Portrait of a Lady in Green). [exh. cat.]

An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1990.

Collection Cameo companion piece, Terra Museum of American Art, November 1995.

Face to Face: Portraits from the Collections of Terra Museum of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 8, 1994–April 2, 1995.

The Art of Thomas Wilmer Dewing: Beauty Reconfigured, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York (organizer). Venues: The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, March 21–June 9, 1996; National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C., July 19–October 14, 1996; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, November 9, 1996–January 19, 1997. [exh. cat.]

Selected Works from the Collections: Two Hundred Years of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, April 12–August 27, 1997.

The Decorative Form: The Aesthetic Movement, Arts & Crafts and the Asian Influence in American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 16–December 5, 1999.

Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.

L'héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]

D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–March 2, 2003).

After Whistler: The Artist and His Influence on American Painting, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia (organizer). Venues: High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, November 15, 2003–February 8, 2004; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, March 6–May 30, 2004. [exh. cat.]

Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, NY and Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, IL (organizers). Venues: National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China, February 9–April 5, 2007; Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China, April 30–June 30, 2007; Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China, April 30–June 30, 2007 (Shanghai presentations ran concurrently); The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia, July 23–September 9, 2007; Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain, October 15, 2007–April 27, 2008 (exhibited through January 13, 2008). [exh. cat.]

Portrait of a Lady : peintures et photographies américaines en France, 1870–1915 (Portrait of a Lady: American Paintings and Photographs in France, 1870–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France and Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (organizers). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–July 14, 2008; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, September 25, 2008–January 5, 2009. [exh. cat.]

The Orient Expressed: Japan's Influence on Western Art, 1854–1918, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi (organizer). Venues: Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi, February 19–July 17, 2011; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas, October 5, 2011–January 15, 2012. [exh. cat.] (exhibited in Mississippi only)

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865–1945 Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art (organizers). Venue: Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China, September 28, 2018–January 6, 2019. [exh. cat.]

"Americans at Montross.”American Art News 10 (April 13, 1912): 2. Text p. 2.

Special Exhibition of Recent Pictures. (exh. cat., Montross Gallery), New York, New York: Montross Gallery, 1912. Text no. 4, checklist (as Lady Holding a Rose).

Paintings in Hartford Collections. (exh. cat. Wadsworth Atheneum), Hartford, Connecticut: Wadsworth Athenaeum, 1936. Text p. 19, cat. no. 41 (checklist, as Woman in Green).

"Americana." Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, New York (December 6, 1956): lot 172 (as Lady in Green).

A Loan Exhibition: Thomas W. Dewing, 1851–1938. (exh. cat., Durlacher Brothers), New York, New York: Durlacher Brothers, 1963. Text cat. no. 18 (checklist) (as Lady in Green).

American Art from Alumni Collections. (exh. cat., Yale University Art Gallery). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Art Gallery, 1968. Ill. no. 130 (as Lady in Green).

From Realism to Symbolism: Whistler and His World. (exh. cat., Wildenstein and Co., New York and the Philadelphia Museum of Art). New York: Trustees of Columbia University, 1971. Text pp. 71–72, no. 65; pl. 58 (black & white, as Lady in Green).

The Arts of the American Renaissance. (exh. cat., Hirschl & Adler Galleries). New York: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, 1985. Text p. 32; ill. p. 33 (color, as Lady in Green).

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Ill. p. 184, pl. T-75 (color, as Portrait of a Lady in Green).

Portrait of a Lady Holding a Rose, Thomas Wilmer Dewing. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1990. Ill. (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text pp. 39–40; ill. fig. 29 (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text pp. 39–40; ill. fig. 29 (black & white).

Hobbs, Susan A. The Art of Thomas Wilmer Dewing: Beauty Reconfigured. (exh. cat., The Brooklyn Museum). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996. Text p. 183–84; ill. p. 183, cat. no. 47 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 132, 194; ill. pp. 12 (color), 132 (color), 133 (color), 194 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 132, 194; ill. pp. 12 (color), 132 (color), 133 (color), 194 (black & white).

Merrill, Linda, ed. After Whistler: The Artist and His Influence on American Painting. (exh. cat., High Museum of Art). New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2003. Text p. 176; ill. p. 177, no. 34 (color).

Davidson, Susan, ed. Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation. (exh. cat., National Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai Museum). New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Chicago, IL: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. (Chinese and English version; citing English version). Text p. 156; ill. p. 159, fig. 73 (color).

Davidson, Susan, ed. Art in the USA: 300 años de innovación. (exh. cat., Guggenheim Museum Bilbao). New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Chicago, IL: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. Ill. p. 131 (color).

Lecomte, Vanessa, editor. Portrait of a Lady: peinture et photographies américains (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny and Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2008. Text p. 94; ill. p. 38 (color).

Weisberg, Gabriel P. et al. The Orient Expressed: Japan's Influence on Western Art, 1854–1918. (exh. cat., Mississippi Museum of Art). Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Museum of Art, 2011. Ill. p. 175, cat. no. 73.

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865-1945. (exh. cat. Shanghai Museum with Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art). Shanghai: Shanghai Museum, 2018. Text p. 50; ill. p. 51 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 170, 171; ill. p. 171, detail pp. 172–173 (color).

Mey-Yen Moriuchi. The Drop Sinister: Harry Watrous' Visualization of the One-Drop Rule. Art Inquiries, Vol. XVIII, No. 1, 2020. Text, p. 27; ill. p. 27, fig. 6 (black & white).