Skip to main content
National Gallery of Art National Gallery of Art

Directions

  • Open 10:00–5:00
  • See extended hours
  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

    Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights

    Through September 5
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists
  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

  • Support
  • Shop
  • Become a Member

Open 10:00–5:00

National Gallery of Art
  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

    Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights

    Through September 5
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists
  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

  • Support
  • Shop
  • Become a Member
  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

    Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights

    Through September 5
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists
  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

  • Support
  • Shop
  • Become a Member

Directions

  • Open 10:00–5:00
  • See extended hours

Global Search

Autocomplete Suggestions
    No Results
    Keep typing to get suggestions
    Loading Results

    Top Searches:

    • Free images
    • Van Gogh
    • Landscape
    • National Gallery Nights
    • Matisse
    Advanced Artwork Search

    Breadcrumb

    1. Home
    2. Artworks
    3. Alexandre Dumas, fils
    Provenance

    Alexandre Dumas, fils

    French, 1824 - 1895

    Explore selected works

    Artwork

    A pale-skinned woman sits at a table leaning over an open book in a brightly lit room in this loosely painted, horizontal scene. The woman is shown from the knees up, and she sits in the center of the picture with her body angled toward the table to our right. Her wavy, chestnut-brown hair is short or pulled back to either side of a center part. She wears a white shirt under a fern-green jacket. The sleeve on the arm closer to us has slipped down over her shoulder. The portion of her skirt we can see is pale peach with plum-purple stripes. She sits on a wooden chair with a curved and possibly upholstered rust-red back. She rests one elbow on the table and her cheek on that fist. She holds open the pages of a book with her other hand, at the edge of the brown table. The room beyond her has walls and possibly works of art painted with swipes of golden yellow, warm caramel, and dark brown. At first glance, a painting of a landscape could be mistaken for a window on the back wall, but then we notice the tall legs of the easel holding it. The artist signed the lower right, “COROT.”
    Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Woman Reading in the Studio, c. 1868, oil on paperboard on wood, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1985.64.9

    Woman Reading in the Studio

    Woman Reading in the Studio

    Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot · c. 1868 · oil on paperboard on wood ·  Accession ID  1985.64.9

    Site Footer

    Home National Gallery of Art

    Hours

    Admission is always free.
    Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
    Sculpture Garden open until 8:00 p.m. select days this summer

    Locations

    • West Building

      6th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, DC 20565

    • East Building

      4th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, DC 20565

    • Sculpture Garden

      7th St and Constitution Ave NW
      Washington, DC 20565

    Newsletter Sign Up Form

    Art news every week

    Subscribe

    * indicates required

    Follow us

    Social Media

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Footer Primary Menu

    • About
      • About Us
      • Press
      • Contact Us
    • Visit
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Calendar
      • Today's Tours
      • Accessibility
      • Exhibitions
    • Get Involved
      • Donate
      • Opportunities
    • Research
      • Free Images for Download
      • Artwork Search
      • The Center
      • Conservation
      • Library
      • Archives
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Publications
    © 2026 National Gallery of Art

    Legal Links

    • Notices
    • Privacy Policy