Un Thé de Douairières (The Dowagers' Tea Party)
1879/1880
Medium
etching, drypoint, and aquatint (dust ground and spirit ground) in black on Japanese paper
Dimensions
plate: 17.5 x 11.4 cm (6 7/8 x 4 1/2 in.) sheet: 23.7 x 16.5 cm (9 5/16 x 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Helena Gunnarsson Buhot Collection
Accession Number
1995.54.42
Art Historical Context
### Un Thé de Douairières (Theagers' Tea Party) Created around 1879/1880 by French printmaker Félix-Hilaireot, *Un Thé de Douair* captures a whimsical, satirical glimpse into the refined yet stuffy world of high-society tea gatherings. Buhot, a master of 19th-century etching renowned for his intricate and atmospheric prints, depicts a group of elderly dowagers in a moment of polite conversation, evoking the Belle Époque's fascination with social rituals. His work bridges Impressionism's everyday scenes with the precision of traditional printmaking, infusing humor into the bourgeoisie leisure ...
About the Artist
Félix-Hilaire Buhot · 1847–1898
Félix-Hilaire Buhot was born on July 9, 1847, in Valognes, a small town in Normandy, France, into a modest family—his father a wine merchant and his mother a seller of women's clothes. Orphaned by age seven after losing both parents and his maternal grandmother, he was raised by relatives, including a godfather, and received an early introduction to drawing from his adopted mother's nephew. In 186...