Union Square, Winter (Washington Monument)
by Theodore Robinson (1852–1896)18⅜ x 22⅜ inches
Provenance
The artist
(Possibly) Archie Chanler, New York, acquired from above
Henry Morgenthau Jr., Poughkeepsie, New York
Robert M. Morgenthau, New York, by descent from above, 1967
Estate of Robert M. Morgenthau, New York, 2019
Sale, Christie’s, New York, New York, May 17, 2022, lot 39, from above
Exhibited
(Possibly) Macbeth Gallery, New York, New York, Theodore Robinson, 1895
(Possibly) Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 65th Annual Exhibition, December 23, 1895–February 22, 1896
Literature
John I. H. Baur, Theodore Robinson (1852–1896) (Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, 1946), 77, no. 232.
Related Work
Union Square, 1895, oil on canvas, 20 x 16⅝ inches; New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut
Note: Henry Morgenthau Jr. served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury throughout most of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. In 1934, he established the Treasury Section of Fine Arts whose aim was to collect works of art to showcase to the public in federal buildings across the country. The Section commissioned works of art from both experienced artists as well as lesser-known talents.
Robinson lived near Union Square, a neighborhood with many artist studios at the time. He painted several depictions of this iconic square featuring the equestrian monument of George Washington.
Artist Biography
As one of the first, and most important, American Impressionists, Theodore Robinson helped to introduce the French style to American artists and audiences. His life was one of promise and influence that ended too soon, snuffed out by an asthma attack at the age of forty-three.
Robinson fully immersed himself in French painting, embracing the cosmopolitan current of fin-de-siècle art. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he formed his Impressionist style at Giverny, alongside Claude Monet. In the 1880s, Monet was considered the leader of the French School, with Americans “flocking” to his home in Giverny. Robinson