study of hands holding flute
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Accession Number
1955-38-37-a
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Elihu Vedder’s “Study of Hands Holding Flute,” created around 1890, offers a quiet glimpse into the working methods of one of America’s most thoughtful late-nineteenth-century artists. Vedder, whose career bridged American and European artistic circles, often explored symbolic and musical themes; this intimate drawing distills that interest to a single, focused motif. The careful rendering of fingers curved around the instrument reveals the artist’s attention to gesture and form, suggesting he may have been preparing elements for a larger composition. As a drawing, the work belongs to a long ...