JULIAN ALDEN WEIR
(American, 1852-1919)
Lady in a Kimono
oil on canvas
31 1/8 x 26 in., frame: 37 1/2 x 31 3/4 in.
Provenance: The artist; by descent to his daughter, Mrs. George Page Ely (née Caroline Weir), 1919; by descent to her daughter, Mrs. Gregory Smith (née Anne Weir Ely); by descent within the family to a private California collection; private collection, New York.

Other Notes: Julian Alden Weir was a leading Connecticut impressionist, renowned for his landscapes and his embrace of a new style of portraiture in the last decade of the nineteenth century, as demonstrated in Lady in a Kimono. For Weir, portraiture was not limited to presenting the likenesses of his sitters, and it became an inventive medium for him to experiment with style and technique. The soft, feathery brushwork and light palette of Lady in a Kimono speak to this, as does Weir’s inclusion and treatment of his sitter’s kimono and Japanese screen.