A Rose
1907
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
58 x 43 7/8 in. (147.3 x 111.4 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Marguerite and Frank A. Cosgrove Jr. Fund, 1993
Accession Number
1993.324
Tags
About this artwork
Thomas Anshutz's monumental portrait "A Rose" stands as one of the artist's most accomplished works, bridging 19th-century academic tradition and 20th-century psychological realism. Created in 1907, this large-scale oil painting depicts Rebecca H. Whelen, daughter of a Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts trustee, seated in contemplative repose wearing an elegant rose-colored dress that gives the work its title. Anshutz, who taught at PAFA for nearly four decades, painted only about 130 oils during...
Art Historical Context
Thomas Anshutz's *A Rose* (1907) is a monumental oil-on-canvas portrait measuring nearly five feet tall, capturing Rebecca H. Whelen, of a Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts trustee, in elegant repose. Her rose-colored dress inspired the painting's poetic title, evoking both floral delicacy and quiet strength. Anshutz, who taught at PAFA for nearly four decades produced only about 130 oils in his career, making this work a rare gem in American portraiture. Bridging 19th-century academic traditions with emerging 20th-century psychological realism, *A Rose* synthesizes influences from Anshutz's ...