Atelier at Giverny

Atelier at Giverny pictures a corner of a high-ceilinged atelier, or artist's studio, in which domestic life has all but taken over artistic practice. Two women, one in the uniform of a French bonne, or hired maid, bend over their mending, oblivious of observation, while a curious toddler leans forward from the confinement of her highchair to gaze at the viewer. The room's professional function is represented by the large window and skylight through which a bright, even light illuminates the scene; the four paintings, evidently mural studies, superimposed on a large tapestry on the back wall; and, on the elaborate easel on the right, a small painting that is clearly Baby Berthe in a Highchair with Toys (TF1999.90). Throughout Atelier at Giverny strong color is applied in somewhat rough, spontaneous brushstrokes that emphasize the painting's surface. Spatial recession is carefully presented, however, notably in the floorboards, the parallel edges of which direct the eye toward the background.

The studio shown here is that of painter Mary Fairchild MacMonnies in Giverny, the rural French village in which she and her first husband, sculptor and painter Frederick MacMonnies, began working in 1890. Around 1895, as the couple were expecting their first child, Berthe Helene, they leased a house called the Villa Besche, where Mary set up her painting studio. Berthe appears in this work as a toddler of no more than about two years of age, suggesting a date for Atelier at Giverny of about 1897. Berthe's French nursery maid, Lili, and governess Marthe Lucas are almost certainly the two women shown here. The three figures create an intimate domestic circle that suggests the melding of Mary's familial and artistic lives in the space of her studio. The domestic nature of this scene led scholars to identify this canvas with Dans la Nursery (In the Nursery), a painting by Mary exhibited at several American venues between 1896 and 1900; according to a reviewer's description, however, that work included details not found in Atelier at Giverny.¹  In any case, the painting's casual, everyday subject and its bright colors and broken brushwork are hallmarks of impressionism, a modern painting mode for which Giverny, an international artists' colony at the turn of the twentieth century, was an important center of practice.

While this studio may be Mary's, scholars disagree whether Mary or Frederick MacMonnies painted Atelier at Giverny or its study, Baby Berthe in a Highchair with Toys. A successful sculptor, Frederick evidently was actively painting by the mid-1890s, although his formal hiatus from sculpting, which lasted until 1904, was not widely announced until 1900. Both artists painted domestic scenes inspired by their growing family and the setting of their successive Giverny homes, which were richly decorated with tapestries of the kind seen here. The MacMonnieses painted in close proximity and shared a similar stylistic approach as well as particular subjects. Atelier at Giverny has been interpreted as an important statement of a woman artist's achievement as both a painting professional and a wife and mother. Alternatively, it can be viewed as Frederick's statement of dominion over an affluent household enriched by artistic objects, equipped with hired domestics, and presided over by his talented spouse, whose second pregnancy, in 1897, may account for her absence here. Regardless of its authorship, Atelier at Giverny draws on the period's attention to the artist's studio as artistic subject.

1 Chicago Evening Post, August 29 1896, Art and Artists Section, p. 10. 

9th Annual Exposition Nationale de Beaux Arts, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1899, no. 976.

Sixty-ninth Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 15–February 24, 1900, no. 117 (as In the Nursery).

American Artists Abroad: The European Experience in the 19th Century, Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Roslyn, New York (organizer). Venue: Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Roslyn, New York, June 2–September 2, 1985 (as Painting Atelier at Giverny). [exh. cat.]

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. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Americans at Home and Abroad, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 6–29, 1987.

Frederick William MacMonnies et Mary Fairchild MacMonnies: deux artistes Américains à Giverny, Musée Alphonse-Georges Poulain, Vernon, France, June 18–September 11, 1988 (as Painting Atelier at Giverny, Frederick William MacMonnies). [exh. cat.]

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 1989.

American Painters in France, 1830–1930, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 14–September 3, 1989. [exh. cat.]

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, June 1–November 1, 1992; April 1–October 31, 1993; April 1–October 30, 1994; April 1–October 31, 1995. [exh. cat.]

American Artists and the French Experience, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–August 27, 1997.

American Artists and the Paris Experience, 1880–1910, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 22, 1997–March 8, 1998.

Giverny: une impression américaine (Giverny, An American Impression), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 1, 1998.

An Interlude in Giverny: The French Chevalier by Frederick MacMonnies, Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venue: Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, October 24, 2000–June 24, 2001. [exh. cat.]

Mary et Frederick MacMonnies: un atelier à Giverny (Mary and Frederick MacMonnies, a Studio in Giverny), Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 1, 2001 (modified form of An Interlude in Giverny: The French Chevalier by Frederick MacMonnies at the Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, October 24, 2000–June 24, 2001). [exh. cat.]

Artistic Communities: Mary MacMonnies Low and Frederick MacMonnies in Chicago and Giverny, Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, July 12–October 7, 2001 (modified form of An Interlude in Giverny: The French Chevalier by Frederick MacMonnies at the Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, October 24, 2000–June 24, 2001 and Mary et Frederick MacMonnies, un atelier à Giverny (Mary and Frederick MacMonnies, a Studio in Giverny) at the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 1, 2001). [exh. cat.]

(Re)Presenting Women, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2001–January 13, 2002.

The French Experience: American Artists at Giverny, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, July 27–October 20, 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.

The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940 (Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains 1840–1940), Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 15–May 25, 2003; Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 8–August 17, 2003. [exh. cat.]

Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.

Americans in Paris 1860–1900. National Gallery, London, England and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachussetts in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York (organizers). Venues: National Gallery, London, England, February 22–May 21, 2006; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, June 25–September 24, 2006; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, October 16, 2006–January 28, 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.

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.]

A Good Light: The Artist's Studio in Cos Cob and Beyond,, Greenwich Historical Society, Cos Cob, Connecticut (organizer). Venue: Greenwich Historical Society, Bush-Holley Historic Site, Cos Cob, Connecticut, October 3, 2012–January 6, 2013. [exh. cat.]

Art News 83 (November 1984): 131. Ill. p. 131 (color as Painting Atelier at Giverny, c. 1897 by Frederick MacMonnies).

Savinetti, Holly Pinto. American Artists Abroad: The European Experience in the 19th Century. (exh. cat., Nassau County Museum of Fine Art). Roslyn, New York: Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, 1985. Text p. 91; pl. 22, p. 44 (color as Painting Atelier at Giverny, by Frederick MacMonnies).

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. Pl. T-140, p. 249 (color as Painting Atelier at Giverny, 1897? by Frederick MacMonnies).

Gordon, E. Adina. Frederick William MacMonnies et Mary Fairchild MacMonnies: deux artistes Américains à Giverny. (exh. cat., Musée Alphonse-Georges Poulain, Vernon, France). Vernon, France: Musée Alphonse-Georges Poulain with le Concours du Conseil Général de l'Eure, 1988. Text no. 11b; ill. no. 11b.

Painting Atelier at Giverny, Frederick William MacMonnies. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 1989. Ill. (black & white as Painting Atelier at Giverny by Frederick William MacMonnies).

Gerdts, William H. Monet's Giverny: An Impressionist Colony. New York: Abbeville Press, 1993. Text pp. 134, 136; pl. 114, p. 135 (color as In the Nursery (Giverny Studio)).

Gomes, Rosalie. Impressions of Giverny: A Painter's Paradise 1883–1914. San Francisco, California: Pomegranate Artbooks, 1995. Text pp. 85, 115; pl. 55, p. 87 (color).

Smart, Mary. A Flight with Fame: The Life and Art of Frederick MacMonnies, with a Catalogue Raisonné and a Checklist of Paintings by E. Adina Gordon. Madison, Connecticut: Sound View Press, 1996. Text pp. 193, no. 9, p. 319 (as Atelier at Giverny, c. 1897 by Frederick MacMonnies).

Cartwright, Derrick R., Joyce Henri Robinson, and Mary S. Smart. Un atelier à Giverny. Mary et Frederick MacMonnies. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text pp. 11, 28, 30, 31, 36, 38, 63, 110; ill. cover (color detail), p. 5 (color detail), p. 10 (color detail), fig. 1, p. 10 (color).

Robinson, Joyce Henri, Derrick R. Cartwright and E. Adina Gordon. An Interlude in Giverny. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text pp. 35, 40, 44, 46, 48, 49, 52, 54; ill. cover (color), fig. 1, p. 34 (color).

Ringelberg, Kirstin. "No Room of One's Own: Mary Fairchilds MacMonnies Low, Berthe Morisot and 'The Awakening.'" In Prospects: An Annual of American Cultural Studies. Vol. 28. Edited by Jack Salzman. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Text pp. 128, 130–38; fig. 1, p. 129 (black & white).

Adler, Kathleen et al. Americans in Paris, 1860–1900. (exh. cat. National Gallery of Art) London, England: National Gallery Company Limited, 2006. Text pp. 24, 34, 37, 240; ill. cat. 10, p. 26 (color), p. 240 (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. 49, 132, 209 (checklist); cat. p. 142 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. "Impressionist Giverny: American Painters in France" American Art Review 20.3 (June 2008): 100-113. Ill. p.107 (color).

Ringelberg, Kirstin. Redefining Gender in American Impressionist Studio Paintings: Work Place/Domestic Space. Surrey, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010. Text pp. 1, 3–4, 12, 18, 73–86 as "Dans la nursery by Mary Fairchild MacMonnies Low; ill. pl. 2 (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. 68, pp. 123 (in Japanese), 189 (in English); ill. p. 123 (color).

Larkin, Susan G. The Artist's Studio in Cos Cob and Beyond American Art Review 24.5 (October 2012): 86-95. Text, p. 92; ill. p. 88 (color).

Larkin, Susan G. A Good Light: The Artist's Studio in Cos Cob and Beyond. (exh. cat. Greenwich Histoical Society, Greenwich, Connecticut). Greenwich: Greenwich Historical Society, 2012. Text, pp. 13, inside back cover (checklist); ill. cover, fig. 9, p. 13 (color).