Theodore Robinson
La Vachère
1887
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Framed: 91 1/4 x 66 x 2 3/4 in. (231.8 x 167.6 x 7 cm) Sight: 85 1/2 x 59 in. (217.2 x 149.9 cm)
Credit Line
Given in Memory of Joseph Katz by his Children
Object Number
1966.46
Painted in the summer of 1888, La Vachère depicts a young peasant girl occupied with sewing while tending her cow. A soft, light palette and varied brushstrokes demonstrate Theodore Robinson’s familiarity with elements of Impressionism as practiced by his friend Claude Monet. Robinson worked with Monet during the summers of 1888 – 1892. Here, the trees shimmer in reflected light while colorful shadows play across the fabric of the young girl’s costume. Shown in the Paris Salon in 1889, this full-scale canvas was preceded by numerous studies. One of those studies, In the Grove [#6, to the right], was donated to the Museum in 1950 as part of the Cone Collection. Sixteen years later, the BMA acquired La Vachère.
Unknown frame shop; William T. Evans, New York, 1906; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art Sale, New York, 1956; Babcock Galleries, New York; Joseph Katz, Baltimore
"Salon of 1889," Paris, No. 2306.
"17th Annual Exhibition," Inter-State Industrial Exposition of Chicago, 1889, no. 364.
Brooklyn Museum, "Theodore Robinson," 1946, cat. #234, Pl. X. (Baur)
The American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the National Institute of Arts and Letters, NY, "The Impressionist Mood in American Painting," Jan. 16-Feb. 15, 1959.
The Baltimore Museum of Art & tour, "Theodore Robinson, 1852-1896," 1 May 1973-24 Feb. 1974, cat. #20, illus. b&w p. 21.
Fondazione Thyssen-Bornemisza, Switzerland, 'American Impressionist Paintings,' 7/22/90-10/28/90.
Sona Johnston, Baltimore Museum of Art, "In Monet's Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny" October 17 - January 9, 2005, Phoenix Art Museum, Feb. 4, 2005 - May 8, 2005; Wadsworth Atheneum, June 4, 2005 - September 4, 2005.
"17th Annual Exhibition," Inter-State Industrial Exposition of Chicago, 1889, no. 364.
Brooklyn Museum, "Theodore Robinson," 1946, cat. #234, Pl. X. (Baur)
The American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the National Institute of Arts and Letters, NY, "The Impressionist Mood in American Painting," Jan. 16-Feb. 15, 1959.
The Baltimore Museum of Art & tour, "Theodore Robinson, 1852-1896," 1 May 1973-24 Feb. 1974, cat. #20, illus. b&w p. 21.
Fondazione Thyssen-Bornemisza, Switzerland, 'American Impressionist Paintings,' 7/22/90-10/28/90.
Sona Johnston, Baltimore Museum of Art, "In Monet's Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny" October 17 - January 9, 2005, Phoenix Art Museum, Feb. 4, 2005 - May 8, 2005; Wadsworth Atheneum, June 4, 2005 - September 4, 2005.
Bryson Burroughs, 'Catalogue of Paintings,' 9th ed. NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931, p. 306.
William H. Truettner, William T. Evans: Collection of American Paintings, 'American Art Journal,' III, no. 2 (Fall 1971) p. 77.
Sona Johnston. Theodore Robinson, 1852-1896. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1973, page x, cat. no. 20.
Sona K. Johnston, "American Paintings 1750-1900 from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 1983, pp. 136-137, ill. p. 136.
Lois Marie Fink, 'American Art at the Nineteenth-Century Paris Salons,' National Museum of Art Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 1990, p. 228, ill. Fig. 124.
William H. Gerdts, 'Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France 1865-1915.' Published by Terra Foundation for the Arts, p. 52 ill.
H. Barbara Weinberg, 'Childe Hassam: American Impressionist, ' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004, p. 20, Fig. 21.
Sona Johnston, "In Monet’s Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny". Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art; London: Philip Wilson, 2004, page 152, plate 40.
Inscribed: l.l., TH. ROBINSON---1888
On View at the BMA
