Her Leisure Hour

Media - 1929.6.160 - SAAM-1929.6.160_1 - 52841
Copied Irving R. Wiles, Her Leisure Hour, ca. 1925, oil on canvas, 27 1⁄4 x 22 1⁄2 in. (69.2 x 57.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.160

Artwork Details

Title
Her Leisure Hour
Artist
Date
ca. 1925
Location
Dimensions
27 1⁄4 x 22 1⁄2 in. (69.2 x 57.1 cm)
Markings
lower right in oil: Irving R. Wiles
Credit Line
Gift of John Gellatly
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure
  • State of being — mood — meditation
  • Recreation — leisure
  • Figure female — full length
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — library
Object Number
1929.6.160
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1929.6.160

Artwork Description

Irving Wiles painted many portraits of society women that emphasized their elaborate costumes and jewelry. One writer for Scribner's Magazine commented that Wiles painted women's ribbons, veils, and laces with "as much character as he puts in the expression of their faces." But in Her Leisure Hour, the girl's unhappy expression is at odds with her luxurious surroundings, as if she could find no interest in any of the books behind her, and took no pleasure in her elegant clothes.