The Basket of Flowers

c. 1913/1917

Frederick Carl Frieseke

Artist, American, 1874 - 1939

Shown from the lap up, a woman looks down at a basket of flowers held on her lap in this square painting. The woman’s body is angled to our right, and her head tips down in that direction. The woman’s skin is pale, nearly white-colored and shaded with icy blue except for her faintly flushed cheeks and pink lips. Her brown hair, which is pulled up and back, and her bangs are shaded with violet purple. A necklace of pale turquoise-green beads hangs around her neck. The dress has a white bodice with a straight neckline and a full pearl-white skirt, which are also shaded with pale blue and purple. Her jacket has three-quarter length sleeves and is striped with indigo blue and white. The oval basket is tipped up to our right, suggesting that one knee is crossed over the other. The woman’s right hand, to our left, nestles among the flowers, and she holds the stem of a white flower with her other hand. She wears a gold band on the ring finger of that hand. Her armchair has a wood frame painted white with a rounded back, which is upholstered in mauve-pink and white stripes. The floor is lilac purple, and the wall above is patterned with purplish-pink and white flowers and green leaves against an amethyst-purple background. The entire painting is created with blended strokes, giving it a soft look, and has a frosty blue and pale purple cast. The artist signed the work in the lower left corner, “F.C. Frieseke.”

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 81.4 x 81.5 cm (32 1/16 x 32 1/16 in.)
    framed: 93.8 x 94 x 6.7 cm (36 15/16 x 37 x 2 5/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.147


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Alex M. Hudnut, New York, until 1931; (sale, American Art Association, 12 November 1931, no. 16); Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Renoir and his Tradition, Museum of French Art, New York, 1931, no. 30.

1932

  • Paintings by American Artists, The Union League Club, New York, 1932, no. 1.

1937

  • An Exhibition of American Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, The Union League Club, New York, 1937, no. 48.

Bibliography

1965

  • Paintings other than French in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 58, repro.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 60, repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 162, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 184, repro.

1996

  • Kelly, Franklin, with Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 228-230, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: F.C. Frieseke.

Wikidata ID

Q20191721


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