Boudoir, Chateau de Chaalis

Walter Gay, Boudoir, Chateau de Chaalis, 1914, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Harper Fletcher in memory of Mr. and Mrs. James Wolcott Wadsworth, 1971.284
Copied Walter Gay, Boudoir, Chateau de Chaalis, 1914, oil on paperboard, 25 1⁄2 x 21 1⁄4 in. (64.9 x 53.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Harper Fletcher in memory of Mr. and Mrs. James Wolcott Wadsworth, 1971.284
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Artwork Details

Title
Boudoir, Chateau de Chaalis
Artist
Date
1914
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
25 1⁄2 x 21 1⁄4 in. (64.9 x 53.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Harper Fletcher in memory of Mr. and Mrs. James Wolcott Wadsworth
Mediums Description
oil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Interior — castle — Château de Chaalis
  • Object — furniture — table
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — bedroom
  • Object — furniture — couch
  • Object — furniture — chair
  • Object — art object — painting
Object Number
1971.284
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1971.284

Artwork Description

This château was once the home of an aristocrat who left it to the French Institute in Paris as a museum with all the art objects and furnishings intact. In 1914, its curator invited Walter Gay to visit and allowed him to paint this opulent chamber. A contemporary critic praised Gay’s paintings, saying that “the personality of the people who live in these chateaux has also been suggested and indicated in an extraordinary manner; we can feel their presence.” (Reynolds, “The Spirit of Empty Rooms: Walter Gay’s Paintings of Interiors,” The Magazine Antiques, March 1990)