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Frank Weston Benson

Lady Trying on a Hat (The Black Hat), 1904

Description

Maker

Title

Lady Trying on a Hat (The Black Hat)

Year

1904

Medium

Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

102.2 x 81.6 cm (40 1/4 x 32 1/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed LL:F.W. Benson 1904

Type

Credit

Gift of Walter Callender, Henry D. Sharpe, Howard L. Clark, William Gammell and Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

06.002

Projects & Publications

Publications

Selection VII

American Painting from the Museum's Collection, c.1800-1930

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Making It In America

October 11, 2013 - February 9, 2014

Benson chose the private act of dressing as a premise for this study. His setting, an “artistic interior,” incorporates decorative objects, including a Japanese chest, a blue and white porcelain vase, and small silver items arrayed on a table. A favorite model, Mary Sullivan, appears to admire herself in an unseen mirror as she lifts her arms to adjust the elaborate black hat. Its wide brim obscures her face, deflecting attention to her active pose and to the dazzling surface effects of her gauzy white dress and satin waistband.

Joseph Lindon Smith and His Circle in Dublin, New Hampshire

October 14, 1998 - March 3, 1999

Lady Trying on a Hat was not intended to be a portrait, but rather a genre painting showing the furnishings of a lady's boudoir. The room contains an eclectic mix of decorative art objects, typical of Dublin and Boston interiors of that era. The chest behind the figure and the two vases are Asian export ware, and the furniture is colonial American. While the composition of this painting is quite balanced and careful, Benson's expressive brushwork is dynamic. The artist's bold use of color --characteristic of his later paintings -- may be seen in the vivid orange reflections on the vase and the table and the bright pink shawl behind the figure.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Lady Trying on a Hat (The Black Hat) with the accession number of 06.002. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.