View of the Jardin du Luxembourg, Looking Toward the Panthéon, Paris
Artist
Susan Watkins
(American, 1875 - 1913)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1908
MediumOil on board
Dimensions9 5/16 × 12 13/16 × 1/8 in. (23.7 × 32.5 × 0.3 cm)
Overall, Frame: 11 3/4 × 15 3/8 in. (29.8 × 39.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 11 3/4 × 15 3/8 in. (29.8 × 39.1 cm)
InscribedSigned lower right corner.
Credit LineBequest of Goldsborough Serpell
Object number46.76.138
Not on view
DescriptionSketch of a pool in park with figures.Label TextSusan Watkins American (1875-1913) Untitled (View of the Jardin du Luxembourg, looking toward the Panthéon, Paris), ca. 1908 Oil on board Goldsborough Serpell Bequest 46.76.138 Inspired by the brilliant palette and broken brushwork of the Impressionists, Watkins in 1908 painted a series of spirited, brightly-colored oil studies of Parisian scenes executed, as the Impressionists prescribed, en plein-air (out-of-doors). Several of these small oils depict the famed parks of Paris-Luxembourg, Monceau, Tuileries-focusing on quiet, contemplative urban spaces removed from the bustle of the city's streets. Surely meant for Watkins herself, these lively studies stand in marked contrast to the artist's more formal, and more public, Salon efforts, which are often characterized by muted, tonal palettes and a smoother, academic application of paint. ProvenanceThe artist, Susan Watkins Serpell, bequeathed to her husband, Goldsborough Serpell, 1913; Bequest of Goldsborough Serpell to the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1946; Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences transferred to the Chrysler Museum, 1971. Exhibition History"The Gentle Modernist: The Art of Susan Watkins," Waitzer Community Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., May 15, 2002 - March 2003. "Women of the Chrysler: a 400-Year Celebration of the Arts," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 24 - July 18, 2010.Published ReferencesJeff Harrison, "The Art of Susan Watkins, 1875-1913," _American Art Review_ XV, No. 1(February 2003): 142-149, illustrated p. 146.
