Morning

John R. Grabach, Morning, ca. 1917, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1979.119.2
Copied John R. Grabach, Morning, ca. 1917, oil on canvas, 36 1842 14 in. (91.6107.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1979.119.2

Artwork Details

Title
Morning
Date
ca. 1917
Dimensions
36 1842 14 in. (91.6107.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure female — head
  • State of being — other — sleep
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — bedroom
  • Object — furniture — bed
Object Number
1979.119.2

Artwork Description

John Grabach completed this portrait of his wife, Anna, shortly before her death. While the visible brushstrokes and bright colors are characteristic of Grabach's impressionist works, the enlarged bed and floating parasol create a distorted perspective. During World War I, Grabach worked in New York creating demographic and climatic maps of Europe for the federal government. As he commuted into the city every day, his fascination with the urban experience grew, and Grabach gradually turned from impressionistic landscapes and portraits, like Morning, toward the social realism seen in his Depression-era painting The Fifth Year (see Luce object 1979.119.1).