Description
Eva Gonzalès’s subjects were most often women engaged in activities such as reading, knitting, or filling a vase with flowers. This pastel of a milliner, or hat-maker, shows the figure handling the trimmings that will eventually be used to decorate a hat. Millinery was a popular subject for the Impressionists, given their interest in fashion and scenes from modern life.
Provenance
Estate of the artist; sold, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, February 20, 1885, lot 74, to Henri Guerard (died 1897) (the artist's husband) [Sainsaulieu 1990]; by descent to his second wife, Jeanne Guerard-Gonzalès (died 1924) (the artist's sister) [Sainsaulieu 1990]; by descent to the artist's son, Jean-Raymond Guerard [Sainsaulieu 1990]. Sold by Paul Rosenberg, New York, to the Art Institute, 1972.
Accession Number
39068
Medium
Pastel on canvas
Dimensions
45 × 37 cm (17 3/4 × 14 5/8 in.)
Classification
oil pastel
Credit Line
Olivia Shaler Swan Memorial Collection
