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Female Nude

James Wells Champney, American, 1843–1903

ca. 1890

Female Nude by James Wells Champney, American, 1843–1903

Classification

figures

Department

Smithsonian Collection

Museum

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Credit

Gift of Mrs. J. Wells Champney

Accession Number

1904-7-13-b

About this artwork

Research in Progress

Art Historical Context

James Wells Champney (184–1903), a prominent American artist and illustrator, created *Female Nude* around 1890, a period when he was blending European academic influences with emerging American realism. Born in Massachusetts, Champney studied in Paris at the École des Beauxts, honing skills in figure drawing that defined much of his oeuvre. His works often celebrated feminine grace through illustrations for Harper's Weekly and murals like those in New York’s Bowery Savings Bank, this intimate nude a likely testament to his rigorous training in classical anatomy. As a study in the figure genr...

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