Frank Weston Benson (American, 1862–1951)
Rainy Day
INV-6447
Frank Weston Benson (American, 1862–1951)1906
Impressionismoil on canvaspainting
Date
1906
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
63.5 × 76.2 cm (25 × 30 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Friends of American Art Collection
In this interior scene of the artist’s summer residence in Maine, American Impressionist Frank Weston Benson depicted his daughter Elisabeth curled up in a rattan chair near a large fireplace. Benson is best known for his outdoor figural compositions, which often feature his wife or children in sun-filled, breezy landscapes. Rainy Day, in contrast, is a study of the subtler effects of interior light. The artist captured the soft, filtered light emanating from the left and embers glowing at far right. Benson was one of a number of late-19th-century artists who painted scenes of contemplative women in interiors, sometimes engaged in activities like sewing or reading, suggesting a cultural link between domesticity and femininity.
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