Portrait of a Lady

c. 1879

Edouard Manet

Associated Names
Edouard Manet

Artist, French, 1832 - 1883

This painting shows a view of a woman's head and shoulders in profile. The woman is facing left, with her eyes forward. She has fair skin, a sharp nose, rosy cheeks, and red lips, and is wearing small gold hoop earrings. She has long brown hair and wears a decorative blue and beige hat. Blue fabric or feathers appear to wrap around the top of the hat and trail behind her head, down her shoulders, and on to her chest. Beneath this blue fabric she wears a light-colored, patterned garment with dark sleeves. The background is a textured, muted blue color. The brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible, especially in the background and on her clothes.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on wood

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mrs. Charles S. Carstairs

  • Dimensions

    overall: 15 x 11.4 cm (5 7/8 x 4 1/2 in.)
    framed: 31.3 x 28.3 x 4.4 cm (12 5/16 x 11 1/8 x 1 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1952.9.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(M. Knoedler & Co., Paris), by 1932 until at least 1947.[1] Mrs. Charles Stewart Carstairs [née Elizabeth Stebbins, d. 1949], Lockport and Paris;[2] bequest 1952 to NGA.
[1] With Knoedler per Paul Jamot and Georges Wildenstein, Manet, 2 vols, Paris, 1932: I:240, no. 307. However, Margaret Iacono's 2016 article cites M. Knoedler & Co. records that indicate Charles Stewart Carstairs purchased the painting in 1914 (Margaret Iacono, "Charles Stewart Carstairs and Camille Pissaro's 'The Côte des Boeufs a L'Hermitage': model of magnanimity or marketing strategy?." The Burlington Magazine 158 [August 2016]: 635, fig. 36, 635 n. 40).
[2] Mrs. Carstairs was the widow of Charles Stewart Carstairs [1865-1928], who was part of the firm of M. Knoedler & Co., and the stepmother of Carroll Carstairs [d. 1948], who likewise worked with Knoedler before opening his own firm in 1934.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1932

  • Jamot, Paul, and Georges Wildenstein. Manet. 2 vols. Paris, 1932: 1:240, no. 307.

1947

  • Tabarant, Adolphe. Manet et ses oeuvres. Paris, 1947: 366-367, 542, repro. 336

1953

  • "Accessions of American and Canadian Museums: January - March 1953." Art Quarterly 16 (Autumn 1953): 252, repro. 256.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 81.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 72, repro.

1970

  • Orienti, Sandra. The Complete Paintings of Manet. London, 1970:111, no. 288

1975

  • Rouart, Denis and Daniel Wildenstein. Edouard Manet, catalogue raisonné 2 vols. Lausanne and Paris, 1975:I:204, no. 307

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 210, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 453, no. 655, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 242, repro.

2016

  • Iacono, Margaret. "Charles Stewart Carstairs and Camille Pissaro's 'The Côte des Boeufs a L'Hermitage': model of magnanimity or marketing strategy?." The Burlington Magazine 158 (August 2016): 635, fig. 36, 635 n. 40.

Wikidata ID

Q20188851

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