Figure in Sunlight (Artist’s Wife)

John Henry Twachtman, Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife), ca. 1890-1900, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.137
Copied John Henry Twachtman, Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife), ca. 1890-1900, oil on canvas, 26 1⁄8 x 21 1⁄4 in. (66.4 x 53.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.137
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Artwork Details

Title
Figure in Sunlight (Artist’s Wife)
Artist
Date
ca. 1890-1900
Location
Dimensions
26 1⁄8 x 21 1⁄4 in. (66.4 x 53.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John Gellatly
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Portrait female — Twachtman, Martha Scudder. — full length
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
Object Number
1929.6.137
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1929.6.137

Artwork Description

John Twachtman painted many portraits of his wife and children between 1889 and 1902. These were among the few figural works he made during a career devoted mostly to landscape painting. Twachtman did not believe in stiff, formal poses, and in this image he painted Martha seated comfortably in front of the family's small farmhouse.He had led a nomadic life before marrying and settling in Connecticut, and the soft,glowing colors of this scene convey the comfort of his new home and family. The blurred outlines and rich yellows and greens of the background evoke the warm, hazy atmosphere of a summer day.