Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Normandy Girl Caught in a Shower
Artist/Maker (1833 - 1905)
Collector (1806 – 1882)

Normandy Girl Caught in a Shower

ca. 1861
Watercolor, gouache, black chalk, and graphite with selective glazing on paper, laid on panel
Overall: 13 5/8 x 9 3/4 in. (34.6 x 24.8 cm)
The Robert L. Stuart Collection, the gift of his widow Mrs. Mary Stuart
S-241
Robert Leighton Stuart, who began collecting to establish himself culturally, express his patriotism, and assert moral/religious values, lent this watercolor to the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. After the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Stuart's interests in European art had intensified, by which time Boughton was living in England and associating with expatriate Americans, like John Singer Sargent and James McNeil Whistler. The work combines a quaint European subject shown realistically with sentiment, elements that appealed to American collectors seeking sophistication. Its theme betrays the influence of the English Pre-Raphaelites and looks forward to the Post-Impressionists. Not surprisingly, Vincent Van Gogh, while he was working for Goupil's art dealership in London and as a lay minister in England, admired Boughton's work.
DescriptionFigure
SignedSigned at lower right in red gouache: "G.HB."
ClassificationsDRAWINGS
Collections
  • Highlights of the Robert L. Stuart Collection