My Little Girl
Signed and dated lower right: Frank W. Benson / 1895.
Description
Painted in 1895, My Little Girl is a striking depiction of Frank Weston Benson’s firstborn child, Eleanor, who would eventually appear in at least sixteen canvases over the course of his career. Her steady gaze immediately engages the viewer, as does her stark white dress, glowing against the shadowy room beyond and rendered with ruffled accents echoing the curved sweep of her hair. Like the dozing cat standing stoically by her side, five-year-old Eleanor betrays none of the restlessness one might expect of a child asked to remain still for her artist father, and for this reason she became one of Benson’s favorites of his ‘homegrown models.’
Provenance
By descent through the family of the artist to the collection of his great-granddaughter, private collection, Maine
Inscriptions
(number in black marker on top of stretcher) K12041
Labels
(on frame) Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York / Frank W. Benson: A Retrospective / May 17 – June 24, 1989 / 9. My Litte Girl 1895 / Oil on canvas / Private collection
Exhibitions
- 53rd Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture, Boston Art Club, January 13 – February 15, 1896, No. 39. My Little Girl (*awarded Third Prize, $1,000)
- Spring Exhibition, Cincinnati Museum, Ohio, May 16 – June 30, 1896, No. 7 My Little Girl (illus. in catalogue)
- 66th Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, December 21, 1896 – February 22, 1897, No. 19 My Little Girl
- 19th Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Artists, held at the American Fine Arts Society, New York, March 28 – May 1, 1897, No. 304 My Little Girl
- Frank W. Benson: A Retrospective, Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, May 17 – June 24, 1989 (illus. plate 9)
Literature
- Boston Sunday Herald, January 12, 1896 (illus. p. 24)
- Cincinnati Museum exhibition catalogue, 1896 (illus.)
- Bedford, Faith Andrews, Bruce Chambers, and Susan Faxon. Frank W. Benson: A Retrospective. New York: Berry-Hill Galleries, 1989 (illus. no. 9)
- Bedford, Faith Andrews. Frank W. Benson, American Impressionist. New York: Rizzoli, 1994 (illus. p. 68, plate 36)
Condition
Good. The painting was paste-lined by a past restorer. It was recently cleaned, and old restoration was tuned to match the cleaned painting, including an area in the girl’s left forearm and hand, some small areas in her hair and face, and in the cat. There is minor in-paint along some of the edges from frame rub, a few thin short diagonal lines in the upper left background, a thin short branch-like line of in-paint along the hem of her dress, and a thin branch-like line of in-paint in the right background near her elbow.
Frame Details
Description
Painted in 1895, My Little Girl is a striking depiction of Frank Weston Benson’s firstborn child, Eleanor, who would eventually appear in at least sixteen canvases over the course of his career. Her steady gaze immediately engages the viewer, as does her stark white dress, glowing against the shadowy room beyond and rendered with ruffled accents echoing the curved sweep of her hair. Like the dozing cat standing stoically by her side, five-year-old Eleanor betrays none of the restlessness one might expect of a child asked to remain still for her artist father, and for this reason she became one of Benson’s favorites of his ‘homegrown models.’
Provenance
By descent through the family of the artist to the collection of his great-granddaughter, private collection, Maine
Inscriptions
(number in black marker on top of stretcher) K12041
Labels
(on frame) Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York / Frank W. Benson: A Retrospective / May 17 – June 24, 1989 / 9. My Litte Girl 1895 / Oil on canvas / Private collection
Exhibitions
- 53rd Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture, Boston Art Club, January 13 – February 15, 1896, No. 39. My Little Girl (*awarded Third Prize, $1,000)
- Spring Exhibition, Cincinnati Museum, Ohio, May 16 – June 30, 1896, No. 7 My Little Girl (illus. in catalogue)
- 66th Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, December 21, 1896 – February 22, 1897, No. 19 My Little Girl
- 19th Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Artists, held at the American Fine Arts Society, New York, March 28 – May 1, 1897, No. 304 My Little Girl
- Frank W. Benson: A Retrospective, Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, May 17 – June 24, 1989 (illus. plate 9)
Literature
- Boston Sunday Herald, January 12, 1896 (illus. p. 24)
- Cincinnati Museum exhibition catalogue, 1896 (illus.)
- Bedford, Faith Andrews, Bruce Chambers, and Susan Faxon. Frank W. Benson: A Retrospective. New York: Berry-Hill Galleries, 1989 (illus. no. 9)
- Bedford, Faith Andrews. Frank W. Benson, American Impressionist. New York: Rizzoli, 1994 (illus. p. 68, plate 36)
Condition
Good. The painting was paste-lined by a past restorer. It was recently cleaned, and old restoration was tuned to match the cleaned painting, including an area in the girl’s left forearm and hand, some small areas in her hair and face, and in the cat. There is minor in-paint along some of the edges from frame rub, a few thin short diagonal lines in the upper left background, a thin short branch-like line of in-paint along the hem of her dress, and a thin branch-like line of in-paint in the right background near her elbow.
