Moonlight

c. 1905

Julian Alden Weir

Associated Names
Julian Alden Weir

Artist, American, 1852 - 1919

This painting shows a cluster of trees against a bright sky in shades of pale yellow and pale seafoam green. Closest to us, a green-gray path stretches horizontally next to tall teal and blue grasses. The gray shadow of a tall tree crosses over the path. The trees occupy the top two-thirds of the painting, and they are painted in shades of blue-green, gray, pale yellow, lilac, and a pale, reddish-pink hue. Near the top right corner, a pale-yellow light source is visible through the leaves and branches of the tree in the center. The brushstrokes in the painting are visible, and the short strokes of thick paint all go in the same direction. These brushstrokes, combined with the seafoam-green color palette, give the painting a soft, hazy look.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)
    framed: 81.6 x 71.8 x 7.3 cm (32 1/8 x 28 1/4 x 2 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1954.4.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably purchased from the artist by (Newman Emerson Montross, New York); sold 1908 to Hugo Reisinger [1856-1914], New York; his estate; (his estate sale, American Art Association, New York, 18 January 1916, no. 8); A[aron] Augustus Healy [1850-1921], Brooklyn; by inheritance to his wife, Theodosia [Mrs. A. Augustus] Healy, Cold Spring-on-Hudson, New York; (her sale, American Art Association, New York, 23 March 1939, no. 72); Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; gift 1954 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

Bibliography

1965

  • Paintings other than French in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 46, repro.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 118, repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 254, repro.

1981

  • Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: 193, repro. 194.

1983

  • Burke, Doreen Bolger. J. Alden Weir: An American Impressionist. Newark, Delaware, 1983: 232, illus. 6.15.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 376, repro.

1998

  • Torchia, Robert Wilson, with Deborah Chotner and Ellen G. Miles. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1998: 230-232, color repro.

2003

  • Merrill, Linda, et al. After Whistler: The Artist and His Influence on American Painting. Exh. cat. High Museum of Art, Atlanta; The Detroit Institute of Arts. Atlanta, 2003:

Inscriptions

lower left: J. Alden Weir

Wikidata ID

Q20190953

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