Perry’s technical skill and focus on figural subjects placed her in the top tier of artists painting in the Boston School tradition at the turn of the century. She immersed herself in the Boston art world and became a founding member of the Guild of Boston Artists. A review of one of Perry’s exhibitions at the Guild reveals that, “she sat like a queen receiving the homage of her subjects, her wit and animation as animated as ever - the personification of the ageless artist– an inspiration!”

More information about this painting...

The following commentary on Perry’s Portrait of a Painter was written by Royal W. Leith, a writer and independent art historian specializing in late nineteenth-century American art: "Lilla Cabot Perry’s Portrait of a Painter depicts painter Arthur Murray Cobb (1871-1907), who was a regular member of the American colony in Giverny between the years 1891 and 1894...We can identify the sitter thanks to a glass slide photograph (Perry Family Archives), in a sleeve labeled “Picture of Mr. Cobb,” which shows the painting Portrait of a Painter sitting on an easel in Lilla Cabot Perry’s studio. Although Perry painted many portraits during her career, Portrait of a Painter is a rare instance in which she depicted an artist at work, another example being her own self-portrait."

Provenance:

Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York

To private collection, Washington, DC, 1986 to present

Labels:

1). (on part of original stretchers affixed verso) Grande Exposition Des Beaux-Arts A Berlin / Artiste: Lilla Cabot Perry / Domicile: (blank) / Propriétaire: (blank) / Sujet et genre: Portrait of a Painter / (sticker saying Return to Budworth is on the label)

2). (on part of original cross-bar affixed verso) 3073

3). Hirschl & Adler Galleries Inc., New York, New York, with Artist Number (APG 543D), Title, Medium, Size, and Date

4). Robert Cheek Fine Arts, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina, with Artist, Title, Medium, Size, and Signature

5). Santa Fe East, Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Artist, Title, Date, Medium, and Size / “Five American Women Impressionists” / April 2 – May 12, 1982 / “An Exhibition of Paintings by American Impressionists” / July 9 – August 25, 1982 / (typed number upper right: WI 26)

6). Santa Fe East, Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Artist, Title, Number (LCP 19), Medium, and Size / Exhibited: / Lilla Cabot Perry: Days to Remember / April 16 – May 31, 1983

7). Childs Gallery, New York, New York, with Number (N85.4.6), Artist, Title, Medium, Size, and Signature

 

Exhibitions:

1). Grande Exposition Des Beaux-Arts, Berlin, Germany, 1895

2). An Exhibition of Paintings by Mrs. T. S. Perry, St. Botolph Club, Boston, Massachusetts, November 10 – 24, 1897, No. 6 Portrait of a Painter

3). Lilla Cabot Perry: A Retrospective Exhibition, The Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire, September 6 – October 5, 1969 (exhibition went to Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, October 10 – 25, 1969; and the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, November 29, 1969 – January 11, 1970), no. 17 Portrait of a Painter (illus.)

4). Five American Women Impressionists, Santa Fe East, Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 2 – May 12, 1982

5). An Exhibition of Paintings by American Impressionists, Santa Fe East, Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 9 – August 25, 1982

6). Lilla Cabot Perry: Days to Remember, Santa Fe East, Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 16 – May 31, 1983