Reverie
Artist
Robert Frederick Blum
American, 1857–1903
Datecirca 1883–1884
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions56 x 22 in. (142.2 x 55.9 cm)
Frame: 70 x 35 3/4 in. (177.8 x 90.8 cm)
Frame: 70 x 35 3/4 in. (177.8 x 90.8 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineGift of John Gellatly
Object numberG.28.4.3
On View
On viewThis painting is closely related to one of Blum's illustrations for Thomas Moore's exotic romance Lalla Rookh, first published in 1817 and a perennial bestseller in Britain and the United States. Set in India, the story recounts the journey of a princess to meet her intended husband. On the way she would sometimes wander from her entourage and seek out "hidden, embowered spots" where "she felt a charm so lovely and so new to her, which for a time made her indifferent to every other amusement." Appropriately, the artist imparts a languorous, introspective look to the woman. Beautiful, solitary, and vulnerable, she would have appealed to the Victorian fascination with the voluptuous, mysterious "East." Her sensuality - and that frank look of longing - would have been unacceptable in the portrayal of a proper American lady.
J. Coffey, 2004Provenance**Created United States, ca. 1883–1884. John Gellatly (1852–1931), New York, by 1889; given to NC State Art Society, 1928.
Published References"Fine Arts: The Society of American Artists," The Nation 48 (May 23, 1889), 433-434, noted 434.
"The Fine Arts: The Society of American Artists (Second Notice)," The Critic 14 (May 25, 1889), noted 263.
An Exhibition of Paintings and Other Works of Art Left as a Bequest to the Society by the Late Robert F. Phifer (brochure) (Raleigh: North Carolina State Art Society, 1929), listed among "First Pictures Given North Carolina State Art Society," no. 52.
Laura Fravel, "Obsession: John Gellatly's American Collection," in North Carolina Museum of Art Preview (Summer 2012), mentioned 14, illus. (color detail) 17.
Exhibition HistoryNew York, NY, Society of American Artists, “Eleventh Annual Exhibition,” May 13-June 15, 1889, no. 15 (as Reverie, lent by John Gellatly).
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina State Art Society, Temporary Art Museum, Agricultural Building, “An Exhibition of Paintings and Other Works of Art Left as a Bequest to the Society by the Late Robert F. Phifer,” February 26, 1929, no. 52 (as The Lady in Yellow).
Raleigh, NC, Sir Walter Hotel, [North Carolina State Art Society gallery], 1929, no. 52 (as The Lady in Yellow).
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, Highlights of the American Collection, February 15-August 2, 2009.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “Art for the People: The Foundation of the North Carolina Museum of Art, 1924–1945,” November 27, 2019–February 9, 2020.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement
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