Mrs. William Barrett Ridgely (Kate Deering)
Artist
Jacques de Lalaing
(Anglo-Belgian, 1858 - 1917)
CultureBelgian
Date1896
MediumPastel | Paper | Board
DimensionsOverall: 49 5/8 x 43 1/2 in. (126 x 110.5 cm)
InscribedLower left: Jacques de Lalaing 1896
Credit LineGift of Mrs. James H. Walters
Object number66.110.1
On View
Not on viewLabel TextJacques de Lalaing Belgian (1858-1917) Portrait of Mrs. William Barrett Ridgely (Kate Deering), 1896 Pastel on paper, mounted on board Gift of Mrs. James H. Watters 66.110.1 Muralist, sculptor, and portrait painter, the Belgian Lalaing was a frequent exhibitor both in Paris and Brussels at the turn of the 20th century. He was particularly prized for his sensitive pastel portraits of fashionable upper-class sitters, which he rendered with a characteristic simplicity of line and restricted color scheme. The Chrysler's Portrait of Mrs. William Barrett Ridgely-an unusually large and showy pastel-is a splendid case in point. Seated regally in profile view on a cane-backed settee, Mrs. Ridgely is the essence of elegant self-composure. Her black gown, glistening black hair, and the pink roses gathered in her lap are rendered with a remarkable simplicity and economy of design, and yet with all the subtlety and sensitivity that the medium of pastel affords. Born Kate Deering, Mrs. Ridgely was the wife of the Hon. William Barrett Ridgely of Washington, D.C., who served as U.S. Comptroller of the Currency. In 1896 she went to Brussels expressly to sit for Lalaing, who made both the pastel portrait of her and a bronze portrait bust. In 1966, Mrs. Ridgely's granddaughter, Mrs. James H. Watters of Virginia Beach, donated the pastel to the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. It has remained in storage ever since. Exhibition History"Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006.
