Portrait of a Woman (Miss Gertrude Bloede)

Media - 1929.6.125 - SAAM-1929.6.125_1 - 46109
Copied Abbott Handerson Thayer, Portrait of a Woman (Miss Gertrude Bloede), ca. 1881, oil on canvas, 16 5814 in. (42.235.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.125
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of a Woman (Miss Gertrude Bloede)
Date
ca. 1881
Dimensions
16 5814 in. (42.235.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John Gellatly
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait female — Bloede, Gertrude, Miss — bust
Object Number
1929.6.125

Artwork Description

Gertrude Bloede was the sister of Abbott Thayer’s first wife, Kate. The Bloedes were German immigrants who lived in Brooklyn and regularly entertained a circle of intellectuals. Both daughters were highly creative and independent: Kate was an artist, and Gertrude was a noted writer who published her romantic poetry under the pseudonym Stuart Sterne. In this portrait sketch, Thayer gave his sister-in-law a faraway look, as though she were lost in thought, perhaps composing a poem.