At the Piano

Theodore Robinson, At the Piano, 1887, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.90
Copied Theodore Robinson, At the Piano, 1887, oil on canvas, 16 1⁄2 x 25 1⁄4 in. (41.8 x 64.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.90
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Artwork Details

Title
At the Piano
Artist
Date
1887
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
16 1⁄2 x 25 1⁄4 in. (41.8 x 64.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of John Gellatly
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — living room
  • Object — flower
  • Performing arts — music — piano
  • Figure female — full length
Object Number
1929.6.90
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1929.6.90

Artwork Description

The shiny surface of the piano, the luminescent fabric of the woman’s dress, and the image of fingers stroking ivory keys conjures a variety of textures and sounds. Theodore Robinson painted this scene of a favorite model playing a piano in the Paris apartment of his wealthy friend “Archie” Chanler. Robinson was in love with Marie but never married her. The two spent a great deal of time together in Giverny, where their relationship sparked much gossip among American tourists staying at the elegant Hôtel Baudy. One lodger wrote to her friend the Boston painter Philip Leslie Hale: “By the way, dear, it looks very strange but Mr. Robinson has a model down here who has a little daughter . . . Everyone says that . . . the little girl is the daughter of Mr. Robinson [and] the child looks very like him.” (Johnston, In Monet’s Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny, 2004)