Henry D. Hughes

American, active early 20th century

Explore Selected Works

Shown from the lap up, a young woman with pale skin, rosy cheeks, dark eyes, and upswept chestnut-brown hair sits in an upholstered chair angled to our left and she looks in that direction in this vertical portrait painting. Light falls directly on her oval-shaped face, and she has a pointed chin and a straight nose. Her dark eyebrows are arched and though her eyes initially look dark as well, closer inspection reveals a sliver of silvery blue iris around the eye closer to us. Her full, pink mouth is slightly parted. She wears a brown, perhaps fur, shawl behind her shoulders over her long black dress. A few touches of rust red on the sleeve closer to us suggests a floral pattern but details are mostly lost in this dark area. She wears parchment-white gloves and her left hand, closer to us, appears to be tucked into a pocket or into a fold of her skirt so only the wrist is visible. She cups her opposite hand, perhaps cradling a small object. The fabric of the chair is painted with touches of burnt orange and ivory. Canary-yellow and white flowers dance around her head, presumably cascading from a vase on a table behind her. Most of the background, especially along the left edge, is painted with a field of stone blue but an area of loosely painted terracotta red above her head suggests a patterned wallpaper or more flowers.
Edgar Degas, Mademoiselle Malot, c. 1877, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.18

Mademoiselle Malot

Edgar Degas · c. 1877 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.18

Painted almost entirely in tones of topaz, lapis, and sky blue, the façade of a building abutting a waterway fills this horizontal painting. Brushstrokes are visible throughout and they blend to make the scene appear hazy. The top two-thirds of this painting shows the front of a building with two stories of rows of pointed, arched windows. Two long, low boats, gondolas, are pulled up side-by-side to one of the arched openings at the water level of the canal, to our right. A few touches of amethyst purple and mauve pink delineate some of the architectural features and shadows amid a field of denim and pale blue. The water below is painted with short, horizontal strokes to create a shimmering effect. The building’s reflection is captured with touches of emerald and cool green against the blue water. The artist signed and dated the work with cobalt-blue paint in the lower left: “Claude Monet 1908.”
Claude Monet, Palazzo da Mula, Venice, 1908, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.182

Palazzo da Mula, Venice

Claude Monet · 1908 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.182

Shown from about the ankles up, a woman with ashen, pale skin, wearing a full, silvery-white dress with gray dots, sits on a low-backed white sofa against a pale peach background in this horizontal portrait painting. Just to our left of center, the woman sits with her body angled to our left and she looks in that direction with pale green eyes. Touches of green shade the inner corners of the eyes, and her complexion has a yellowish cast. Her pink lips are closed and her chestnut-brown hair is parted in the middle and pulled back. Her hands rest in her lap with wrists crossed. The dress darkens from eggshell white on the chest and sleeves to nickel gray on the skirt. Charcoal-gray dots create an irregular pattern that becomes looser as it moves down the skirt. Her dress is cinched at the waist with a black sash. The skirt spreads over her settee, which has a low back that angles up on our left. The peach wall behind her takes up the top half of the composition. The painting is created blended brushstrokes, giving it a soft, almost hazy look. The artist’s signature in red appears in the lower right corner: “Degas.”
Edgar Degas, Madame René de Gas, 1872/1873, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.124

Madame René de Gas

Edgar Degas · 1872/1873 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.124