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Thomas Wilmer Dewing - Lady in Yellow, 1888

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This vertical oil painting shows a woman sitting in an armchair, facing our right, wearing a voluptuous yellow dress that surpasses her feet and rests on the floor. The woman has light skin and light brown hair that's pinned back with a headband with a row of pearls. The dress has skinny straps that rest on her shoulders, and a large bow at the front of the dress rests on her chest. The front of her body is lit, while behind her is in shadow, the background all dark. The chair is cream in color. The woman's left arm is bent, elbow resting on the arm of the chair. The woman's right arm lays in her lap. The painting sits in an ornate, gilded frame with carved lines and rosettes. Below the painting, on the frame, is a brass plaque that reads "DEWING".

Thomas Wilmer Dewing (Boston, 1851 - 1938, New York)

Lady in Yellow, 1888

Oil on panel , 50.8 x 40 cm (20 x 15 3/4 in.)

Yellow Room

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Commentary

Dewing created a striking contrast between the precisely modeled face and arms, and the very free, feathery brushstrokes of the dress. The painting was exhibited in 1888 at the Boston Art Club, where it was purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner with the help of Dennis Miller Bunker. The painting was then exhibited to considerable acclaim at the National Academy of Design and at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889. Stanford White designed the frame, which is original to the painting. Mrs. Gardner hung the painting in the Yellow Room, a setting perfectly attuned to the hue of the woman’s dress.

Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 202.