Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1987
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Mary Fairchild MacMonnies (later Low)
(American, 1858–1946)
The Breeze
1895
Oil on canvas
Image: 69 x 52 in. (175.3 x 132.1 cm)
Frame: 78 1/2 x 61 3/4 in. (199.4 x 156.8 cm)
Frame: 78 1/2 x 61 3/4 in. (199.4 x 156.8 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1987.23
SignedLower right: Mary Mac Monnies Paris 1895
InterpretationThe Breeze by Mary Fairchild MacMonnies (later Low) is a decorative depiction of an ideally beautiful woman seemingly floating against a flower-strewn flat blue background in a dance-like pose. With her outstretched right arm the figure lifts the voluminous drapery of her dress as it billows and swirls in an upward draft that also lifts a diaphanous scarf and her blonde braids. The dancer looks downward in a modest gesture, but the exposed creamy flesh of her bare arms and the clinging nature of her dress, with its gracefully swirling movement and décolleté neckline, are compellingly sensuous. The floral border encircling the image like a painted frame highlight the flatness of the painting and its decorative artifice, while the carefully delineated floating figure virtually projects into the viewer's space.
The high-waisted, low-necked dress, with its loose, flowing fabric and geometric border, evokes the ancient Greek garment called a chiton, further removing The Breeze to the realm of the ideal and the purely decorative. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries American painters and sculptors commonly resorted to classical costumes, subjects, and settings to dignify and lend universality to their works. MacMonnies had painted classically draped idealized female figures in her celebrated large mural decoration entitled Primitive Woman (now unlocated) for the Woman's Building at the World's Columbian Exposition, the grand world's fair held in Chicago in 1893. Like that ambitious project, The Breeze reflects the influence of the most celebrated muralist of MacMonnies's era, French painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–98), in its pale blue, white, and gold color scheme and classical allusions. Said to have been painted as a companion to another, now-unlocated work entitled Diana, The Breeze eschews the rules of naturalistic representation governing easel painting: it takes on the appearance rather of a fixed wall decoration like those many of MacMonnies's contemporaries were creating for grand-scale public and private interiors. With its stylized curvaceous lines, derived from natural plant forms, The Breeze recalls the contemporary aesthetic known as Art Nouveau.
The otherworldly nature of MacMonnies's image and specifically the dramatic curves of the figure's floating garment evoke the performances of American-born dancer Loie Fuller (1862–1928), the celebrated "Fairy of Light," whose famous solo performances in Paris in the 1890s featured billowing veils and silk draperies manipulated in sweeps and circles. Then living and working in Paris, MacMonnies undoubtedly was aware of Fuller, though she may not have witnessed her distinctive dances first-hand.
The high-waisted, low-necked dress, with its loose, flowing fabric and geometric border, evokes the ancient Greek garment called a chiton, further removing The Breeze to the realm of the ideal and the purely decorative. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries American painters and sculptors commonly resorted to classical costumes, subjects, and settings to dignify and lend universality to their works. MacMonnies had painted classically draped idealized female figures in her celebrated large mural decoration entitled Primitive Woman (now unlocated) for the Woman's Building at the World's Columbian Exposition, the grand world's fair held in Chicago in 1893. Like that ambitious project, The Breeze reflects the influence of the most celebrated muralist of MacMonnies's era, French painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–98), in its pale blue, white, and gold color scheme and classical allusions. Said to have been painted as a companion to another, now-unlocated work entitled Diana, The Breeze eschews the rules of naturalistic representation governing easel painting: it takes on the appearance rather of a fixed wall decoration like those many of MacMonnies's contemporaries were creating for grand-scale public and private interiors. With its stylized curvaceous lines, derived from natural plant forms, The Breeze recalls the contemporary aesthetic known as Art Nouveau.
The otherworldly nature of MacMonnies's image and specifically the dramatic curves of the figure's floating garment evoke the performances of American-born dancer Loie Fuller (1862–1928), the celebrated "Fairy of Light," whose famous solo performances in Paris in the 1890s featured billowing veils and silk draperies manipulated in sweeps and circles. Then living and working in Paris, MacMonnies undoubtedly was aware of Fuller, though she may not have witnessed her distinctive dances first-hand.
Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1987
Exhibition History
Fifth Annual Salon de Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1895, no. 832 (as La brise).
Eighth Annual Exhibition, The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, October 22–December 8, 1895, no. 198. [exh. cat.]
Sixty-fifth Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1895–February 22, 1896, no. 215.
Eighteenth Annual Exhibition, Society of American Artists, New York, New York, Spring 1896, no. 150.
13th Annual St. Louis Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri, September 1896.
Tennessee Centennial, Nashville, Tennessee, 1897.
Third Annual Exhibition, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1898.
Pan American Exposition, Buffalo, New York, 1901 [awarded bronze medal].
South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition, Charleston, South Carolina, December 1, 1901–May 1902, no. 199.
The Genius of the Fair Muse, Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, New York, April 1–May 23, 1987 (as Loie Fuller). [exh. cat.]
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 1994.
Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 11–October 31, 1997.
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.
Paris and the American Woman, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 19–April 14, 2002.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 2002.
Mary Cassatt - Retrospective, Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, NHK, Tokyo, Japan and NHK Productions, Tokyo, Japan (organizers); Venues: Yokohama Museum of Art, June 25–September 11, 2016; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, September 27–December 4, 2016 [exh. cat.]
Eighth Annual Exhibition, The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, October 22–December 8, 1895, no. 198. [exh. cat.]
Sixty-fifth Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1895–February 22, 1896, no. 215.
Eighteenth Annual Exhibition, Society of American Artists, New York, New York, Spring 1896, no. 150.
13th Annual St. Louis Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri, September 1896.
Tennessee Centennial, Nashville, Tennessee, 1897.
Third Annual Exhibition, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1898.
Pan American Exposition, Buffalo, New York, 1901 [awarded bronze medal].
South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition, Charleston, South Carolina, December 1, 1901–May 1902, no. 199.
The Genius of the Fair Muse, Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, New York, April 1–May 23, 1987 (as Loie Fuller). [exh. cat.]
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 1994.
Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 11–October 31, 1997.
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.
Paris and the American Woman, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 19–April 14, 2002.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 2002.
Mary Cassatt - Retrospective, Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, NHK, Tokyo, Japan and NHK Productions, Tokyo, Japan (organizers); Venues: Yokohama Museum of Art, June 25–September 11, 2016; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, September 27–December 4, 2016 [exh. cat.]
Chicago Post (October 19, 1895). Text. [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 154.]
Chicago Inter Ocean (October 20, 1895). Text. [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 154.]
Chicago Chronicle (October 21, 1895). Text. [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 154.]
Chicago Inter Ocean (October 23, 1895). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 154.]
Sixty-fifth Annual Exhibition Catalog. (exh. cat., Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1895. Ill.
Milwaukee Sentinel (December 1, 1895). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 156.]
Philadelphia Enquirer (December 22, 1895). Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 156.]
Philadelphia Press (December 29, 1895). Ill. (black & white drawing). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 156.]
Catalogue Illustré des ouvrages de Peinture, Sculpture dessins Gravure, Objets d'Art et d'Architecture. (exh. cat., Fifth Annual Salon de Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts). Paris, France: Typographie Chamerot et Renouard, 1895. Cat. no. 832 (as La brise (étude de composition decorative)).
Catalogue of the Eighth Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture by American Artists. (exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago). Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1895. Cat. 198 (as The breeze. Decorative Panel).
MacMonnies, Mary. Letter to Mr. William Macbeth, New York from Paris on November 2, 1895. Macbeth Gallery Papers. Archives of American Art, Roll N. Mc9, Frame 305, 306.
MacMonnies, Mary. Letter to Mr. William Macbeth, New York from Paris on February 21, 1896. Macbeth Gallery Papers. Archives of American Art, Roll N.Mc9, Frame 307, 308.
MacMonnies, Mary. Letter to Mr. William Macbeth, New York from Paris on March 15, 1896. Macbeth Gallery Papers. Archives of American Art, Roll N.Mc 9, Frame 309.
New York Herald (March 8, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York Evening Sun (March 27, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York Journal (March 28, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York Times (March 28, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York World (March 29, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York Journal (March 31, 1896). Text and ill. (black & white drawing). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 168.]
Providence Rhode Island Journal (April 5, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 169.]
New York Home Journal (April 8, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 169]
Cortissoz, Royal. "Exhibition of Society of American Artists." Harper's Weekly XL/2052 (April 18, 1896): 392-93.
New York Critic (April 18, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 169.]
New York Illustrated American (April 18, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 169.]
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 20, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 113.]
Hoeber, Arthur. "American Women in Art." Every Month (November 1896): 25. Ill. p. 25.
"Exhibition of the Society of American Artists." The Critic XXV (NS)/737 (April 4, 1896): 242. Text p. 242.
MacMonnies, Mary. Letter to Mr. Ives from Giverny France to St. Louis, Missouri on April 27, 1897. Archives, St. Louis Art Museum.
Catalogue of the Exhibition of Fine Arts. (exh. cat., The South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition). Charleston, South Carolina: The South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition, 1901. No. 199, p. 15.
Smart, Mary. "Sunshine and Shade: Mary Fairchild MacMonnies Low." Woman's Art Journal 4 (Fall 1983/Winter 1984): 20–25. Text p. 24.
Preato, Robert. The Genius of the Fair Muse: Painting and Sculpture: Celebrating American Women Artists 1875 to 1945. (exh. cat., Grand Central Art Galleries). New York: Grand Central Art Galleries, 1987. Ill. p. 58 (color).
The Breeze, Mary Fairchild MacMonnies Low. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 1994. Ill. (black & white).
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. 18, 110; fig. 5, p. 19 (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. 40–41; fig. 5, p. 41 (color).
Ringelberg, Kristin. The Breeze, Mary Fairchild MacMonnies (later Low). Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 2002. Ill. (color).
O'Connor, Candace. Beginning a Great Work: Washington University in St. Louis, 1853–2003. St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University, 2003. Ill. p. 70 (color).
O'Connor, Candace. Mary Fairchild: Washington University's Forgotten Impressionist. Washington University in St. Louis, Vol. 79, No. 3 (Fall 2009): 14–17, ill. p. 17 (color).
Ringelberg, Kirstin. Redefining Gender in American Impressionist Studio Paintings: Work Place/Domestic Space. Surrey, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010. Ill. fig. 3.3, p. 80 (black & white).
Ikeda, Yuko; Pamela A. Ivinski; Maruko Kanai; Chinatsu Makiguchi; Nancy Mowll Mathews; Hideko Numata; Susan Pinsky; Marc Rosen; and Junko Uchiyama. Mary Cassatt Retrospective. (exh. cat. Yokohama Museum of Art; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto). Yokohama, Japan: Yokohama Museum of Art, 2016. Text p. 113; 211, cat. no. 81 (checklist). Ill. p. 113 (color).
Chicago Inter Ocean (October 20, 1895). Text. [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 154.]
Chicago Chronicle (October 21, 1895). Text. [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 154.]
Chicago Inter Ocean (October 23, 1895). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 154.]
Sixty-fifth Annual Exhibition Catalog. (exh. cat., Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1895. Ill.
Milwaukee Sentinel (December 1, 1895). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 156.]
Philadelphia Enquirer (December 22, 1895). Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 156.]
Philadelphia Press (December 29, 1895). Ill. (black & white drawing). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 156.]
Catalogue Illustré des ouvrages de Peinture, Sculpture dessins Gravure, Objets d'Art et d'Architecture. (exh. cat., Fifth Annual Salon de Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts). Paris, France: Typographie Chamerot et Renouard, 1895. Cat. no. 832 (as La brise (étude de composition decorative)).
Catalogue of the Eighth Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture by American Artists. (exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago). Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1895. Cat. 198 (as The breeze. Decorative Panel).
MacMonnies, Mary. Letter to Mr. William Macbeth, New York from Paris on November 2, 1895. Macbeth Gallery Papers. Archives of American Art, Roll N. Mc9, Frame 305, 306.
MacMonnies, Mary. Letter to Mr. William Macbeth, New York from Paris on February 21, 1896. Macbeth Gallery Papers. Archives of American Art, Roll N.Mc9, Frame 307, 308.
MacMonnies, Mary. Letter to Mr. William Macbeth, New York from Paris on March 15, 1896. Macbeth Gallery Papers. Archives of American Art, Roll N.Mc 9, Frame 309.
New York Herald (March 8, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York Evening Sun (March 27, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York Journal (March 28, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York Times (March 28, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York World (March 29, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 160.]
New York Journal (March 31, 1896). Text and ill. (black & white drawing). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 168.]
Providence Rhode Island Journal (April 5, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 169.]
New York Home Journal (April 8, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 169]
Cortissoz, Royal. "Exhibition of Society of American Artists." Harper's Weekly XL/2052 (April 18, 1896): 392-93.
New York Critic (April 18, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 169.]
New York Illustrated American (April 18, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 169.]
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 20, 1896). [Archives of American Art, Roll D245, Frame 113.]
Hoeber, Arthur. "American Women in Art." Every Month (November 1896): 25. Ill. p. 25.
"Exhibition of the Society of American Artists." The Critic XXV (NS)/737 (April 4, 1896): 242. Text p. 242.
MacMonnies, Mary. Letter to Mr. Ives from Giverny France to St. Louis, Missouri on April 27, 1897. Archives, St. Louis Art Museum.
Catalogue of the Exhibition of Fine Arts. (exh. cat., The South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition). Charleston, South Carolina: The South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition, 1901. No. 199, p. 15.
Smart, Mary. "Sunshine and Shade: Mary Fairchild MacMonnies Low." Woman's Art Journal 4 (Fall 1983/Winter 1984): 20–25. Text p. 24.
Preato, Robert. The Genius of the Fair Muse: Painting and Sculpture: Celebrating American Women Artists 1875 to 1945. (exh. cat., Grand Central Art Galleries). New York: Grand Central Art Galleries, 1987. Ill. p. 58 (color).
The Breeze, Mary Fairchild MacMonnies Low. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 1994. Ill. (black & white).
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. 18, 110; fig. 5, p. 19 (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. 40–41; fig. 5, p. 41 (color).
Ringelberg, Kristin. The Breeze, Mary Fairchild MacMonnies (later Low). Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 2002. Ill. (color).
O'Connor, Candace. Beginning a Great Work: Washington University in St. Louis, 1853–2003. St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University, 2003. Ill. p. 70 (color).
O'Connor, Candace. Mary Fairchild: Washington University's Forgotten Impressionist. Washington University in St. Louis, Vol. 79, No. 3 (Fall 2009): 14–17, ill. p. 17 (color).
Ringelberg, Kirstin. Redefining Gender in American Impressionist Studio Paintings: Work Place/Domestic Space. Surrey, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010. Ill. fig. 3.3, p. 80 (black & white).
Ikeda, Yuko; Pamela A. Ivinski; Maruko Kanai; Chinatsu Makiguchi; Nancy Mowll Mathews; Hideko Numata; Susan Pinsky; Marc Rosen; and Junko Uchiyama. Mary Cassatt Retrospective. (exh. cat. Yokohama Museum of Art; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto). Yokohama, Japan: Yokohama Museum of Art, 2016. Text p. 113; 211, cat. no. 81 (checklist). Ill. p. 113 (color).
There are no additional artworks by this artist in the collection.