Girl with a Baby Among Birch Trees
Artist
Paula Modersohn-Becker
(German, 1876-1907)
CultureGerman
Date1905
MediumOil on cardboard
Dimensions27 1/2 × 22 in. (69.9 × 55.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 33 1/8 × 27 1/2 × 2 in. (84.1 × 69.9 × 5.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 33 1/8 × 27 1/2 × 2 in. (84.1 × 69.9 × 5.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Margaret S. Travers in memory of Arnold F. Strauss, M.D., and Marjory Spindle Strauss
Object number94.21
On View
Not on viewLabel TextPaula Modersohn-Becker German, 1876–1907 Girl with a Baby Among Birch Trees, 1905 Oil on cardboard Images of women and motherhood, as seen in this painting of a mother holding her child, were typical of artist Paula Modersohn-Becker’s work. She almost exclusively created paintings of women, alone or with children, often in awkward or unflattering manners. She regularly presented rustic-looking German peasant women using rough brushwork and heavy contours to counter patriarchal standards of beauty. Modersohn-Becker’s images are celebrated today as early examples of modernism and radical representations of the female form. Gift of Margaret S. Travers, in memory of Arnold F. Strauss, M.D., and Marjory Spindle Strauss 94.21ProvenanceCollection of August Freiherr von der Heydt, Wuppertal, Elberfeld, Germany, 1913; Collection of Arthur Strauss, Wuppertal, Barmen, Germany, 1920; Marjory S. Strauss, Norfolk; Gift of Margaret S. Travers in memory of Arnold F. Strauss (M.D.) and Marjory Spindle Strauss to the Chrysler Museum of Art, 1994. Exhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25, 1996 - February 16, 1997. "Jubilee Exhibition: 100 Years Von der Heydt Museum," Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Germany, Sept. 22, 2002--Jan. 12, 2003. "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. "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. "Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900," organized by the American Federation of Arts, Denver Art Museum, Octobeer 21, 2017 - January 14, 2018, The Speed Art Museum, February 17 - May 13, 2018, Clark Art Institute, June 8 - September 3, 2018. "Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin ich / I am me," Neue Galerie, New York, NY, June 6 - September 9, 2024; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, October 12, 2024 - January 12, 2025. Published References"Principales acquisitions des musées en 1994," GAZETTE DES BEAUX-ARTS, No. 1514 (March 1995), mentioned on p. 77. Sabine Fehlemann et al., _Imaginationen: Von Ruysdael bis Manet, Chagall, Kandinsky. Zum 100-Jährigen Jubiläum_, exh. cat., Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal, Germany, 2002, 58-61. Laurence Madeline, _Women Artists in Paris, 1850 - 1900_, exh. cat., American Federation of Arts in association with Yale University Press, New Haven, 2017, 232-33. Jay A. Clark and Jill Lloyd, eds., _Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin ich / I am me_ (New York: Prestel with the Neue Galerie, 2024) 106, cat. no. 32.
