Afternoon Tea
Afternoon Tea | |
---|---|
Artist | Richard E. Miller |
Year | 1910 |
Type | Oil paint on canvas |
Dimensions | 100 cm × 81 cm (39.5 in × 32 in) |
Location | Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis |
Afternoon Tea is a 1910
Description
Afternoon Tea has been lauded as one of Miller's best paintings, "a confident, mature work and an absolute knockout in coloristic power."
Historical information
This painting was produced when Miller was at an important artistic crossroads, shifting from academic portraits to more animated images of contemporary women. The real subject, though, was paint itself, and the joy he derived from its manipulation.[4]
Miller was a member of the Giverny Group, a group of American Impressionists who settled in Northern France to be near Claude Monet. They preferred to produce paintings of women in sun-drenched landscapes, emphasizing bold contrasts and patterns. They, Miller included, embraced whole-heartedly the mania for Japanese aesthetics that swept France at the turn of the twentieth century. He filled his studio with fans, kimonos, ceramics, and other souvenirs. World War I dislodged them from the region; Miller returned to America in 1914.[5]
Acquisition
Afternoon Tea was vigorously pursued by IMA curator Ellen Lee to flesh out the museum's American Impressionism collection. Her research confirmed that it was a long-lost Miller masterpiece mentioned in the artist's scrapbook but not seen for years. Thus, she convinced IMA benefactors Jane and Andrew Paine to bid on it on December 4, 1997, at
See also
References
- ISBN 0936260777.
- ^ a b Dickey, Stephanie (May 1998). "Art of the Deal". Indianapolis Monthly. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ Kane, Marie Louise (1997). A Bright Oasis: the Paintings of Richard E. Miller. New York City: Jordan-Volpe Gallery.
- ^ a b "Richard Edward Miller (1875-1943) Afternoon Tea". Christie's. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Afternoon Tea". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 5 September 2013.