Description
This painting depicts a woman reclining upon an upholstered couch on a summer day while light filters through a partially closed awning that provides a glimpse of a beach in the background. James Tissot’s mature works from this time were
more likely to convey a mood—here of a languid summer afternoon—than a specific narrative. The model for this painting was Kathleen Newton, born Kathleen Ashburnham Kelly (1854–1882), the artist’s lover from 1876 until her untimely death from tuberculosis at the age of 28.
more likely to convey a mood—here of a languid summer afternoon—than a specific narrative. The model for this painting was Kathleen Newton, born Kathleen Ashburnham Kelly (1854–1882), the artist’s lover from 1876 until her untimely death from tuberculosis at the age of 28.
Provenance
(Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, May 31,1879, acquired form the artist). (1879); Arrived in New York via Jos. Bulla, Paris, July 14, 1879, Femme au sofa (stock number 1645). (1879); (Knoedler, New York, NY, October 4, 1879, sold to Henry Hilton, as Summer-days) (1879); (American Art Galleries, New York, NY, Hilton Collection sale, February 13-16 February 1900 (lot 74), sold to Edward Brandus) (1900); (W. Postar, Boston, MA, sold to Herbert Schwarz) (1971-1972); Herbert Schwarz, Montreal (1972); (Sotheby's, Los Angeles, CA, Parke-Bernet, May 22-23, 1972, lot 260, Jeune femme assise with unsustainable provenance) (1972); (Williams & Son, London, United Kingdom, May 1972) (1972); Clarence Frisbee, London, October 1972. (1972); (Christie's, London, United Kingdom, July 25, 1975, lot 115) (1975); Mr. Noah L. Butkin [1918-1980] Shaker Heights, OH, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1975-1980); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1980-)
Accession Number
1980.288
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
Framed: 112.1 x 85.4 x 6.4 cm (44 1/8 x 33 5/8 x 2 1/2 in.); Unframed: 87.5 x 61 cm (34 7/16 x 24 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Bequest of Noah L. Butkin
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting French
Background & Context
Background Story
James Tissot (1836-1902) was a French painter known for the precisely observed scenes of fashionable society that make him one of the most important painters of the late 19th-century social scene. Seaside (July: Specimen of a Portrait) from 1878 is part of Tissot's series of months depicting fashionable women in seasonal settings, combining the precisely observed social detail that distinguishes Tissot's best work from the more atmospheric painting of his Impressionist contemporaries. The 1878 date places this in Tissot's London period, when he was producing the precisely observed scenes of English fashionable society that are his most accomplished works.
Cultural Impact
Seaside (July: Specimen of a Portrait) is important in the history of 19th-century painting because it demonstrates the precisely observed social manner that Tissot brought to the depiction of fashionable society. Tissot's precisely observed social scenes—combining the detail of the genre painter with the elegance of the society portrait—represent an alternative to both Impressionism and academic painting, and the 1878 painting shows this alternative at its most fashionable.
Why It Matters
Seaside (July: Specimen of a Portrait) is Tissot's precisely observed society: a fashionable woman at the seaside rendered in the detailed social manner that makes him one of the most important painters of the late 19th-century social scene. The 1878 painting shows the combination of genre detail with society elegance that is Tissot's most distinctive contribution.
