Portrait of a Young Girl

Maker(s)
Artist: Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938)
Historical period(s)
1888
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
H x W: 34.5 x 25.1 cm (13 9/16 x 9 7/8 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1893.1a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Oil painting

Keywords
portrait, United States, woman
Provenance

Caroline J. Hecker, New York [1]

To 1893
Reichard and Company, New York [2]

From 1893 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Reichard and Company, New York on January 3, 1893 [3]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

Notes:

[1] Provenance field.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See note 1.

[4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Caroline J. Hecker
Reichard and Company (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Label

Dewing painted this picture to look like a modern masterpiece, for when Freer bought it at auction in early 1893 the painter exulted, "I am sure you have a 'Corot.'" Serious and aristocratic, the sitter could, indeed, be a fine lady, but the aura of refinement is assumed, for the "lady" was a skilled impersonator-an actress and model adept at looking "more like the real thing than the real thing itself."


An effervescent personality, "Dudie," as friends called her, was out on her own at an early age. Her father, an immigrant from Glasgow with seven children to support, often struggled to make ends meet. Even so, the family disowned their daughter when she became a showgirl. She traveled with a touring theatrical company, and as a model she merited front-page coverage in the New York Herald Tribune. Dudie survived by her wits--unmarried, a free spirit, and a prankster who never ceased to amuse the artists for whom she posed. Freer delighted in hearing about her exploits from Dewing.


(Quotations from Thomas Wilmer Dewing to Charles Lang Freer, December 23, 1892, Charles Lang Freer Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, and an interview with Julia Baird in The Real Diana of the Garden, New York Herald Tribune, December 5, 1897)

Published References
  • Susan Hobbs. Thomas Wilmer Dewing: Beauty into Art: A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, CT, November 13, 2018. pg 343, pl 154.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
SI Usage Statement

Usage Conditions Apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Request Permission | Terms of Use

Related Objects