Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2011.

Emma at the Piano

Artist George Bellows (American, 1882-1925)

CultureAmerican

Date1914

MediumOil on panel

DimensionsOverall, Frame: 37 3/4 x 45 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. (95.9 x 116.2 x 7 cm)
28 3/4 x 37 in. (73 x 94 cm)

InscribedSigned lower right: Geo. Bellows

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., dedicated by the Museum Trustees in honor of Susan Leidy, Deputy Director of the Chrysler Museum of Art from 2011 to 2019

Object number71.617

Collections

American Art before 1945

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 218

DescriptionThis is an oil on panel painting. The background is very dark and the piano is nearly as dark, however Emma's face is highlighted as she turns away from the piano. A long satiny sleeve with a ruffle stretches across the keys, one finger still pressing down on a note. There is a small gold ring on her pinky. Her hair is drawn into a loose bun away from her pale face. The brightest color on the canvas is her sapphire blue shawl. On top of the piano, there is a blue vase with flowers.

Label TextGeorge Wesley Bellows American, 1882–1925 Emma at the Piano, 1914 Oil on panel Fiery auburn hair and an electric blue dress frame the luminous face of Emma, wife of the painter George Bellows. Though Bellows’ large and uneven brushstrokes give his works a rough, bold character, this sensitive portrait reveals the ability of his experimental technique to convey psychological depth. Emma’s right hand has pressed one of the piano keys, suggesting that a single musical note pierces this dark room, perhaps in tune with the haunting blue of her eyes. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.617 ProvenanceAdolph Lewisohn, New York City, by 1915; Sam Lewisohn, New York City; M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York City, 1957; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, 1971. Exhibition History"Winter Exhibition," National Academy of Design, New York, N.Y., December 19, 1914 - January 17, 1915. (Exh. cat. no. 281) "Golden Gate International Exposition," Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, Calif., 1940. (Exh. cat. no. 1222) "19th and 20th Century European and American Art," Des Moines Art Center, Iowa, 1943. (Exh. cat. no. 4) "Musical Instruments, and Their Portrayal in Art," Baltimore Museum of Art, Md., 1946. (Exh. cat. no. 62) "American Painting," Parson Hall Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, 1946. (Exh. cat. no. 31) "Turn of the Century," Des Moines Art Center, 1949. (Exh. cat. p. 4) "Music in Painting," University of Illinois, Urbana, 1950. (Exh. cat. no. 3) "The Controversial Century, 1850-1950: Paintings from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown, Mass., June 16 - September 3, 1962; The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, September 28 - November 4, 1962. "Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. (Exh. cat. no. 37) "Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk," for the benefit of The Chrysler Museum Art Reference Library, Wildenstein & Co., New York, N. Y., April 13 - May 13, 1978. (Exh. cat. no. 37) "Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., October 25, 1996 - February 16, 1997. "George Bellows Retrospective," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., June 10 - October 8, 2012; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, November 13, 2012 - February 18, 2013; Royal Academy, London, England, March 16 - June 9, 2013. "George Bellows and the American Experience," Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH, August 23, 2013 - January 5, 2014.Published References"Girl at Piano,"_Town and Country_ (January 1915): 39. J.L. Morrill, ed., "On the Death of George Bellows," _Ohio State University Monthly_ 16 (February 1925): 3-5. Emma Bellows, _The Paintings of George Bellows_ (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929), no. 42. _Contemporary art of the United States; collection of the International Business Machines Corporation, exhibited in its Gallery of Science and Art, Palace of Electricity and Communication, Golden Gate International Exposition_, exh. cat., Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, Calif., 1940, 128, no. 1222. Peyton Boswell, Jr., _George Bellows_ (New York: Crown Publishers, 1942), 20, 82. Frederick P. Stieff, _Musical Instruments and Their Portrayal in Art_, exh. cat., Baltimore Museum of Art, Md., 1946, 25-30. _American Painting_, exh. cat., Person Hall Art Gallery, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1946, no. 31. _19th and 20th Century European and American Art_, exh. cat., Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, 1948, no. 4. _The Turn of the Century_, exh. cat., Des Moines Art Center, Iowa, 1949, 4. _Music in Painting_, exh. cat., University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill., 1950, no. 3. Charles F. Comfort and William S.A. Dale, _The Controversial Century: 1850-1950_, exh. cat., Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown, Provincetown, Mass., 1962, not paged. Charles H. Morgan, _George Bellows: Painter of America_ (New York: Reynal & Company, 1965), 336. Dennis R. Anderson, _Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum_, exh. cat., Norfolk, Va., 1975, 172. Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya, _Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk_ exh. cat., Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1978, 35, no. 37. Gail Evett. "Spotlight: George Bellows, _Emma at the Piano_," _The Chrysler Museum Bulletin_. Vol. 11, no. 6. 06/1981:cover and inside. _The Chrysler Museum: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Norfolk, Virginia_, (Norfolk: Chrysler Museum, 1982), 97. ISBN: 0-940744-37-6 _George Bellows (1882-1925): A Selection of Paintings, Drawings and Lithographs_, exh. cat., H. V. Allison Galleries, New York, N.Y., 1985, 14, no. 10. Joyce M. Szabo, "American Art - 1875-1913" _Gallery Guide_ (Norfolk: The Chrysler Museum, 1986), no. 15. Jane Myers, Michael Quick, et al., _The Paintings of George Bellows_, exh. cat., Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Tex., and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Calif., 1992, 48, 199. ISBN: 0883600684, 0810931192 Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., _American Impressionism and Realism - The Margaret and Raymond Horowitz Collection_, exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 1998, 38. ISBN: 0894682393 Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 152-153, no. 94. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6 Mary Sayre Haverstock, _George Bellows_ (New York: Merrell Publishers Limited, 2007), 95-97. ISBN: 1-8589-4393-0 Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 70, fig. 76. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1 Charles Brock, Sean Wilentz, et al., _George Bellows_, exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 2012, 184-197, cat. 74.