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Adelson Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1992
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Theodore Robinson
(American, 1852–1896)
Study for "Valley of the Seine from Giverny Heights"
1892
Oil on canvas
Image: 22 7/8 × 28 7/8 in. (58.1 × 73.3 cm)
Frame: 32 × 38 1/16 × 5 in. (81.3 × 96.7 × 12.7 cm)
Frame: 32 × 38 1/16 × 5 in. (81.3 × 96.7 × 12.7 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1992.9
SignedUnsigned
InterpretationTheodore Robinson painted Etude pour “Vallée de la Seine vue des hauteurs de Giverny” as part of his work on a series of three panoramic views of the Seine River valley near the rural village of Giverny, in Normandy, France. These works (Valley of the Seine From the Hills of Giverny, 1892, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Valley of the Seine, 1892, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA; Valley of the Seine, c. 1892, Maier Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Lynchburg, VA) were his most ambitious to date. Only slightly smaller, this study is far sketchier, particularly in the quickly brushed-in forms of trees in both foreground and distance. It lays out the basic geography described in the other works: a succession of horizontal and gently diagonal bands of pale grays, blues, and greens. However, Robinson appears to have painted this work not as a study of composition but of light and color: with the river a dull, pale gray reflecting the overcast sky, Etude pour “Vallée de la Seine vue des hauteurs de Giverny” is most closely related to the last painting of the series and the only one of the three to depict the scene under cloud cover.
Robinson executed all his paintings of the Valley of the Seine in a short time beginning in June of 1892, during the last of six consecutive summer and fall seasons he spent in Giverny, home of his friend and mentor Claude Monet (1840–1926). A leader of the impressionist movement, Monet influenced Robinson not only to adopt impressionism’s bright color, broken brushwork, and local settings, but to paint one subject in multiple renderings that explore changing conditions of light and atmosphere. As part of Robinson’s serial study of the Seine Valley, Etude pour “Vallée de la Seine vue des hauteurs de Giverny” underscores his interest in such resulting subtle shifts of color and mood.
Robinson executed all his paintings of the Valley of the Seine in a short time beginning in June of 1892, during the last of six consecutive summer and fall seasons he spent in Giverny, home of his friend and mentor Claude Monet (1840–1926). A leader of the impressionist movement, Monet influenced Robinson not only to adopt impressionism’s bright color, broken brushwork, and local settings, but to paint one subject in multiple renderings that explore changing conditions of light and atmosphere. As part of Robinson’s serial study of the Seine Valley, Etude pour “Vallée de la Seine vue des hauteurs de Giverny” underscores his interest in such resulting subtle shifts of color and mood.
Adelson Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1992
Exhibition History
Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915 (Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 1993; April 1–October 30, 1994; April 1–October 30, 1995. [exh. cat.]
Première exposition: les carnets de dessins et les photographies de Theodore Robinson (First Exposure: The Sketchbooks and Photographs of Theodore Robinson), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 14–December 31, 2000 (in modified form). [exh. cat.]
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]
The Ties that Bind (Les liens qui nous unissent), ART in Embassies Program, United States Department of State, Washington, D.C. (organizer). Venue: U.S. Embassy Paris, France, December 2005–March 2007. [exh. cat.]
Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885–1915, Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 1, 2007; San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA, July 21–October 14, 2007. [exh. cat.]
Impressionist Giverny: The Americans, 1885–1915, Selections from the Terra Foundation for American Art, Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Florence Griswold Museum of Art, Old Lyme, Connecticut, May 3–July 27, 2008; Albany Institute of History & Art, Albany, New York, August 23, 2008–January 4, 2009.
L’Impressionnisme au fil de la Seine (Impressionism on the Seine), Musée des impressionismes Giverny, Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée des impressionismes Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–July 18, 2010. [exh. cat.]
Monet and the Artists of Giverny: The Beginning of American Impressionism, The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan with the Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venues: Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Kitakyushu, Japan, October 9–November 28, 2010; The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan, December 7, 2010–February 17, 2011; The Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan, February 25–April 10, 2011. [exh. cat.]
American Impressionism: a New Vision, 1880–1900 (L'Impressionnisme et les Américains/ Impresionismo Americano (French & Spanish titles), Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, Giverny, France and the Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (organizers). Venues: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, Giverny, France, March 28–June 29, 2014; Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, July 19–October 19, 2014; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain, November 4, 2014–February 1, 2015. [exh. cat.]
The Studio of Nature, 1860-1910: The Terra Collection in Context (L’atelier de la Nature, 1860-1910. Invitation à la Terra Collection). Terra Foundation for American Art with the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny (organizers). Venue: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, France, September 12, 2020–January 3, 2021. [exh. cat. in French]
Première exposition: les carnets de dessins et les photographies de Theodore Robinson (First Exposure: The Sketchbooks and Photographs of Theodore Robinson), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 14–December 31, 2000 (in modified form). [exh. cat.]
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]
The Ties that Bind (Les liens qui nous unissent), ART in Embassies Program, United States Department of State, Washington, D.C. (organizer). Venue: U.S. Embassy Paris, France, December 2005–March 2007. [exh. cat.]
Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885–1915, Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 1, 2007; San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA, July 21–October 14, 2007. [exh. cat.]
Impressionist Giverny: The Americans, 1885–1915, Selections from the Terra Foundation for American Art, Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Florence Griswold Museum of Art, Old Lyme, Connecticut, May 3–July 27, 2008; Albany Institute of History & Art, Albany, New York, August 23, 2008–January 4, 2009.
L’Impressionnisme au fil de la Seine (Impressionism on the Seine), Musée des impressionismes Giverny, Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée des impressionismes Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–July 18, 2010. [exh. cat.]
Monet and the Artists of Giverny: The Beginning of American Impressionism, The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan with the Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venues: Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Kitakyushu, Japan, October 9–November 28, 2010; The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan, December 7, 2010–February 17, 2011; The Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan, February 25–April 10, 2011. [exh. cat.]
American Impressionism: a New Vision, 1880–1900 (L'Impressionnisme et les Américains/ Impresionismo Americano (French & Spanish titles), Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, Giverny, France and the Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (organizers). Venues: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, Giverny, France, March 28–June 29, 2014; Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, July 19–October 19, 2014; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain, November 4, 2014–February 1, 2015. [exh. cat.]
The Studio of Nature, 1860-1910: The Terra Collection in Context (L’atelier de la Nature, 1860-1910. Invitation à la Terra Collection). Terra Foundation for American Art with the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny (organizers). Venue: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, France, September 12, 2020–January 3, 2021. [exh. cat. in French]
The Ties that Bind (Les liens qui nous unissent). (exh. cat. U.S. Embassy Paris, France). Washington, D.C.: ART in Embassies Program, U.S. Department of State, May 2006. Ill. p. 30 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. et al. Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885–1915. (exh. cat. Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. Text pp. 103, 210 (checklist); cat. p. 97 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M., Shunsuke Kijima and Sanjiro Minamikawa. Monet and the Artists of Giverny: The Beginning of American Impressionism. (exh. cat. Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, and The Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art). Fukuoka, Japan: The Nishinippon Shimbun, 2010. Text cat. no. 32, pp. 80 (in Japanese), 183 (in English); ill. p. 80 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. American Impressionism: A New Vision 1880–1900. (exh. cat., Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, National Galleries of Scotland, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza). Giverny, France: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, 2014. (English, French and Spanish versions). Text p. 40; ill. p. 79 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine and Valerie Reis. The Studio of Nature, 1860-1910: The Terra Collection in Context. (exh. cat, Terra Foundation for American Art with the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny). Paris, France: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2020. Text p. 28; Pl. 64, p. 138 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. et al. Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885–1915. (exh. cat. Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. Text pp. 103, 210 (checklist); cat. p. 97 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M., Shunsuke Kijima and Sanjiro Minamikawa. Monet and the Artists of Giverny: The Beginning of American Impressionism. (exh. cat. Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, and The Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art). Fukuoka, Japan: The Nishinippon Shimbun, 2010. Text cat. no. 32, pp. 80 (in Japanese), 183 (in English); ill. p. 80 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. American Impressionism: A New Vision 1880–1900. (exh. cat., Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, National Galleries of Scotland, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza). Giverny, France: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, 2014. (English, French and Spanish versions). Text p. 40; ill. p. 79 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine and Valerie Reis. The Studio of Nature, 1860-1910: The Terra Collection in Context. (exh. cat, Terra Foundation for American Art with the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny). Paris, France: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2020. Text p. 28; Pl. 64, p. 138 (color).