The Figurine

William M. Paxton, The Figurine, 1921, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 1951.10.8
Copied William M. Paxton, The Figurine, 1921, oil on canvas, 18 1⁄8 x 15 in. (45.9 x 38.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 1951.10.8
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
The Figurine
Artist
Date
1921
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
18 1⁄8 x 15 in. (45.9 x 38.2 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female — waist length
  • Object — art object — sculpture
  • Object — other — vase
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — living room
Object Number
1951.10.8
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1951.10.8

Artwork Description

The Figurine illustrates the vogue for Asian decorative wares that informed American collecting tastes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Here, a Chinese blue-and-white jar is shown alongside a Chinese figurine; a maid delicately cleans the glass encasing the figurine. Paxton’s compositions often portray women in beautiful interiors. The light source from the left highlighting the woman’s rosy complexion, combined with the sensitive attention to detail, recall the works of the seventeenth-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer.