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Henri painted this image in the summer of 1910 while traveling in Holland. It is clearly a salute to the great Dutch master Frans Hals, who is known for his thick, choppy brushstrokes and his ability to capture personality. While Hals was a painter of the elite, Henri painted local people he encountered on the street. He was particularly attracted to the youthful freshness of young people, believing “If one has love of children as human beings, and realizes the greatness that is in them, no better subjects for painting can be found.” [1]
While in Haarlem in 1907, Henri had painted a girl named Cori Peterson. In a letter to his mother, he commented: “all the time I have been here I have painted over and over again a little roistering white headed red cheeked broad faced girl. I have done many heads of her, most of them laughing.” [2] Known images of Cori bear a striking resemblance to Girl with Big Hat suggesting he sought her out when he returned to Holland three years later.
John Sloan, another active member of the Ashcan School, wrote glowingly of his friend’s paintings which he felt “stood head and shoulders above [John Singer] Sargent and [William Merritt] Chase and their ilk because of their fine color and insistence on graphics. A good Henri can stand beside Hals… Henri’s portraits were emotional without sentimentality. There is emotional excitement in his work, a special feeling of respect for the dignity of the person.”[3] Henri’s many portraits offer a glimpse into the faces of a broad and diverse group of people at the turn of the century. The sense of a captured moment and loose style in this canvas are qualities of Henri’s work that proved influential to the development of American Modernism in the first years of the twentieth century.
Notes:
[1] Henri quoted in D.F. Hoopes, Robert Henri: 1865–1929 (New York, 1976), unpaginated.
[2] Henri to his mother, July 28, 1907, Henri Papers, Beinecke Library, Yale University, quoted in Valerie Ann Leeds, My People: The Portraits of Robert Henri (Orlando, FL: Orland Museum of Art, 1994), 26.
[3] Sloan in H.F. Sloan, Robert Henri: Painter (Wilmington, DE: 1984), xi.
ProvenanceGage Gallery of Fine Art, Cleveland, OH. [1]
To 1993
Mr. and Mrs. Warren H. Corning, founder of American Foundation Trust, Kirtland, Ohio. [2]
From 1993
Barbara Millhouse, New York, NY, purchased at auction, Christie’s, NY, May 26, 1993, Sale 7684, Lot 184. [3]
Notes:
[1] Christie’s 1993 Auction information.
[2] See Note 1.
[3] Loan Agreement, March 21, 1994.
Exhibition History1912
Henri Exhibition
Gage Gallery of Fine Arts
Cleveland, OH (1912)
2006
Self/Image: Portraiture from Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art
Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006-12/30/2006)
2020
Girlhood in American Art
Reynolda Hosue Museum of American Art (10/20/2020-3/21/2021)
Published ReferencesHomer, W.I., Robert Henri and His Circle, Ithaca, 1969, pp. 241-244.
Hoopes, D.F., Robert Henri: 1865-1929, New York, 1976, n.p.
Sloan J., Robert Henri: Painter, Wilmington, Delaware, 1984, p. xi.
DepartmentCollection of Barbara B. Millhouse
Girl with Big Hat
Artist
Robert Henri
(1865 - 1929)
Date1910
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsFrame: 29 3/4 x 25 1/2 in. (75.6 x 64.8 cm)
Canvas: 24 1/2 x 20 1/4 in. (62.2 x 51.4 cm)
Image: 23 1/4 × 19 1/2 in. (59.1 × 49.5 cm)
SignedRobert Henri
Credit LineCourtesy of Barbara B. Millhouse
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object numberIL2003.1.17
DescriptionIn keeping with the aesthetics of the Ashcan School, Robert Henri, largely a figurative painter, sought unaffected, ordinary people. The half-length format and neutral background of Girl with Big Hat are typical of Henri’s mature work. The mischievous expression on the young girl’s face as well as her broad smile, rosy cheeks, and crinkled eyes are brought to life by Henri’s loose and expressive brushwork. The large planes of color emphasize her milky complexion and create a sense of movement in the otherwise static portrait. A light palette of peach, lavender, and white accentuates the youth of the sitter. A large-brimmed light brown hat, white blouse, and deep pink bow set off the sitter’s face. Henri painted this image in the summer of 1910 while traveling in Holland. It is clearly a salute to the great Dutch master Frans Hals, who is known for his thick, choppy brushstrokes and his ability to capture personality. While Hals was a painter of the elite, Henri painted local people he encountered on the street. He was particularly attracted to the youthful freshness of young people, believing “If one has love of children as human beings, and realizes the greatness that is in them, no better subjects for painting can be found.” [1]
While in Haarlem in 1907, Henri had painted a girl named Cori Peterson. In a letter to his mother, he commented: “all the time I have been here I have painted over and over again a little roistering white headed red cheeked broad faced girl. I have done many heads of her, most of them laughing.” [2] Known images of Cori bear a striking resemblance to Girl with Big Hat suggesting he sought her out when he returned to Holland three years later.
John Sloan, another active member of the Ashcan School, wrote glowingly of his friend’s paintings which he felt “stood head and shoulders above [John Singer] Sargent and [William Merritt] Chase and their ilk because of their fine color and insistence on graphics. A good Henri can stand beside Hals… Henri’s portraits were emotional without sentimentality. There is emotional excitement in his work, a special feeling of respect for the dignity of the person.”[3] Henri’s many portraits offer a glimpse into the faces of a broad and diverse group of people at the turn of the century. The sense of a captured moment and loose style in this canvas are qualities of Henri’s work that proved influential to the development of American Modernism in the first years of the twentieth century.
Notes:
[1] Henri quoted in D.F. Hoopes, Robert Henri: 1865–1929 (New York, 1976), unpaginated.
[2] Henri to his mother, July 28, 1907, Henri Papers, Beinecke Library, Yale University, quoted in Valerie Ann Leeds, My People: The Portraits of Robert Henri (Orlando, FL: Orland Museum of Art, 1994), 26.
[3] Sloan in H.F. Sloan, Robert Henri: Painter (Wilmington, DE: 1984), xi.
ProvenanceGage Gallery of Fine Art, Cleveland, OH. [1]
To 1993
Mr. and Mrs. Warren H. Corning, founder of American Foundation Trust, Kirtland, Ohio. [2]
From 1993
Barbara Millhouse, New York, NY, purchased at auction, Christie’s, NY, May 26, 1993, Sale 7684, Lot 184. [3]
Notes:
[1] Christie’s 1993 Auction information.
[2] See Note 1.
[3] Loan Agreement, March 21, 1994.
Exhibition History1912
Henri Exhibition
Gage Gallery of Fine Arts
Cleveland, OH (1912)
2006
Self/Image: Portraiture from Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art
Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006-12/30/2006)
2020
Girlhood in American Art
Reynolda Hosue Museum of American Art (10/20/2020-3/21/2021)
Published ReferencesHomer, W.I., Robert Henri and His Circle, Ithaca, 1969, pp. 241-244.
Hoopes, D.F., Robert Henri: 1865-1929, New York, 1976, n.p.
Sloan J., Robert Henri: Painter, Wilmington, Delaware, 1984, p. xi.
Status
On viewCollections