GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In 1907 Robert Henri took a group of students to Haarlem, Holland, where he taught a class and worked on his own painting. Henri was fascinated by the Dutch people, particularly the children. He found strong inspiration in the work of Frans Hals (c. 1581-1666) whose 16th-century portraits showed lower class sitters with expressive faces painted in thick, visible brushwork. During the summer of 1907 Henri focused his efforts on creating informal portraits of two Dutch girls. He painted them with amazing speed, producing from one to three portraits each day. This rapid pace enabled Henri to capture the energetic, spontaneous brushwork he admired in works by Hals and the French Impressionists. Dutch Girl Laughing also illustrates the artist's typical use of heavy impasto, dramatic lighting, strong contrasts of light and dark, a somber palette, and surface highlights.
Originally titled Laughing Dutch Boy when it was exhibited in 1909, this portrait caused a lot of discussion among Henri scholars as to the gender of the child portrayed. Through study of the artist's diary and letters, the artist's biographer, Bennard Perlman, conclusively identified the childas Cori Peterson, a young girl. Henri painted nearly two dozen portraits of Cori while visiting Holland in 1907. He described his jovial muse in several letters saying, “One of my two models is a little white-headed, broad-faced, red-cheeked girl of about eight—always laughing.”
This charming portrayal was exhibited at the 1909 Texas State Fair and subsequently purchased by the Dallas Art Association. At the time, Henri's technique and selection of lower-class subject matter was considered the cutting edge of modern art in America.
Adapted from
- Eleanor Jones Harvey, DMA label copy (1909.2), August 1993.
- William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label copy (1909.2), August 2005.
- Debra Gibney, “Highlights of the American Collection,” in Dallas Museum of Art 100 Years, eds. Dorothy Kosinski, et al. (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 2003), 48.
- P.F.R., DMA research document, n.d., Collections Records Object File.
NOTES
Added the P.F.R essay that was previously removed from "curatorial remarks"- per email conversation with Sue- June 2015.
Added Gibney text from Dallas Museum of Art 100 Years.
Added"Dutch Boy Laughing" as a former title, with the remark that it was changed after receiving evidence from Bernard B. Perlman in 1987, prior to Perlman's biography of Henri being released in 1988.
"Laughing Dutch Boy" used as title in State Fair of Texas, Art Department, Official Handbook-- 1909 and 1913.
Many additional bibliographic sources are in the file and could be added to the TMS record.
Removed TMS object tag because rule exists.
The exhibition history listed in the catalogue from Milwaukee Art Museum, Painters of a new Century (1991) includes 3 exhibitions not listed in our records. These are also listed in correspondence from Ann C. Stewarton behalf of Eleanor Jones Harvey in 2000. I added them to the text-entry field, but think that there is a chance that these exhibitions may represent an alternate version of this painting, since the titles were all similar.
1908: Philadelphia Art Club
1909: Exhibition title unknown, Charleston, SC
1909: Exhibition title unknown, Spartanburg, SC
Could not decide whether to include the following quotes from The Art Spirit that could be applied to this work (Sue's response- all three seem obtuse- skip them):
- Another way of saying it is to say that the head in space creates its own background. That the background becomes an extension of the head; and that it is all the canvas that is the head-not Just that part the material head occupies. (page 39)
- The painting of hair. By the hair I mean the head or that part of the head which is under the hair-for in art hair is only important as hair after it has performed another very expressive function. The hair is used to give shape to the head. A beautifully shaped head with poor hair is more important to us than a poorly shaped head and beautiful hair. The hair is used to draw the head. Therefore the terms of hair should be very simple as befits the dignity of a well-shaped head. Hair also is a wonderful means of vitalization. That is, by a wise use of hair the spirit of a facial expression, or a whole body expression, may be greatly enhanced. The features of the face have an anatomical responsibility, they must be in their places; hair has at certain irresponsibility. It may of itself do many things. You can make a constructive use of it. (page 47)
- The tramp sits on the edge of the curb. He is all huddled up. His body is thick. His underlip hangs. His eyes look fierce. I feel the coarseness of his clothes against his bare legs. He is not beautiful, but he could well be the motive for a great and beautiful work of art. The subject can be as it may, beautiful or ugly. The beauty of a work of art is in the work itself. (166)
Artist geography-- see Henri CC for the complete list of geographies to add to TMS
Born- Cincinnati, OH
Active- NYC
This is the full object information for the comparison image linked in web resources:
Robert Henri, Laughing Child, 1907. oil on canvas, 23-3/4 x 20-1/4 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York: Gift of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, 31.240. http://collection.whitney.org/object/1810
These two links to alternate versions of this portrait were not included as web resources. I did not have time to add them to Piction in order to be connected to this object online.
- Robert Henri, Laughing Child, 1907. Muskegon Museum of Art, Meskegon, MI. http://media.mlive.com/chronicle/entertainment_impact/photo/10923857-large.jpg
- Robert Henri, Cori and the Kitten, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 in. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Accession no. 54.1.
- (Image found via Pinterest, not the museum) http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f0/53/c8/f053c83923bbce44d6cd5165a6aab458.jpg
Note has been routed and revised. Tagging with UMO pending because of the archival photo to be added and tagging with completed because I have moved the GDoc to Queta's folder to be reviewed. (2/13/2017)
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Produced- Haarlem, Holland
Process/materials
oil paint
canvas
Historical periods
Individuals
Frans Hals
Subject terms
child
girl
sitting
smock
contrast
laughing
palette
portrait
teachers
models
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1909: Dallas Art Association, Dallas, TX [1] [2]
[1] Purchased following its inclusion in the the State Fair of Texas exhibition.
[2] The Dallas Arts Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
Sue approved-- Future archival resource that would be nice to have scanned- 200X.015- 90th Anniversary Timeline Photographs, Series 1, Item 15: Robert Henri's Dutch Child Laughing (1907) was purchased by the DAA in 1909, and is seen here hanging in a 1916 installation in the Free Public Art Gallery in Fair Park
WEB RESOURCES
- Robert Henri, Laughing Child (1907)~Look at another example of Henri's use of this cherubic, Dutch child as a model.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
- Dallas Art Association, Official Catalogue of the Permanent Collection in the Art Gallery at Fair Park, 1922. UMO: 12710641
- Object number added to Piction
- Dallas Art Association, Official Catalogue of the Permanent Collection in the Art Gallery at Fair Park, 1916. UMO: 12710609
- Object number added to Piction.
FUN FACTS
- Between the time when this portrait was made and its accession into the collection, Henri became an art world celebrity. His reputation was cemented after organizing the debut exhibition of The Eight (later classified as the Ashcan School) at Macbeth Galleries in 1908.
- The identity of Cori Peterson is easily distinguished from Henri's other model depicted in the summer of 1907. Unlike Cori, the adolescent Marthe was always shown with serious, somber expressions.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1909.2
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
In 1907 Robert Henri took a group of students to Haarlem, Holland, where he taught a class and worked on his own painting. Henri was fascinated by the Dutch people, particularly the children. He found strong inspiration in the work of Frans Hals (c. 1581-1666) whose 16th-century portraits showed lower class sitters with expressive faces painted in thick, visible brushwork. During the summer of 1907 Henri focused his efforts on creating informal portraits of two Dutch girls. He painted them with amazing speed, producing from one to three portraits each day. This rapid pace enabled Henri to capture the energetic, spontaneous brushwork he admired in works by Hals and the French Impressionists. Dutch Girl Laughing also illustrates the artist's typical use of heavy impasto, dramatic lighting, strong contrasts of light and dark, a somber palette, and surface highlights.
Originally titled Laughing Dutch Boy when it was exhibited in 1909, this portrait caused a lot of discussion among Henri scholars as to the gender of the child portrayed. Through study of the artist's diary and letters, the artist's biographer, Bennard Perlman, conclusively identified the childas Cori Peterson, a young girl. Henri painted nearly two dozen portraits of Cori while visiting Holland in 1907. He described his jovial muse in several letters saying, “One of my two models is a little white-headed, broad-faced, red-cheeked girl of about eight—always laughing.”
This charming portrayal was exhibited at the 1909 Texas State Fair and subsequently purchased by the Dallas Art Association. At the time, Henri's technique and selection of lower-class subject matter was considered the cutting edge of modern art in America.
Adapted from
- Eleanor Jones Harvey, DMA label copy (1909.2), August 1993.
- William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label copy (1909.2), August 2005.
- Debra Gibney, “Highlights of the American Collection,” in Dallas Museum of Art 100 Years, eds. Dorothy Kosinski, et al. (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 2003), 48.
- P.F.R., DMA research document, n.d., Collections Records Object File.
Fun Facts
- Between the time when this portrait was made and its accession into the collection, Henri became an art world celebrity. His reputation was cemented after organizing the debut exhibition of The Eight (later classified as the Ashcan School) at Macbeth Galleries in 1908.
- The identity of Cori Peterson is easily distinguished from Henri's other model depicted in the summer of 1907. Unlike Cori, the adolescent Marthe was always shown with serious, somber expressions.
Archival Resources
- Dallas Art Association, Official Catalogue of the Permanent Collection in the Art Gallery at Fair Park, 1922. UMO: 12710641
- Object number added to Piction
- Dallas Art Association, Official Catalogue of the Permanent Collection in the Art Gallery at Fair Park, 1916. UMO: 12710609
- Object number added to Piction.
Web Resources
- Robert Henri, Laughing Child (1907)~Look at another example of Henri's use of this cherubic, Dutch child as a model.
Notes
Added the P.F.R essay that was previously removed from "curatorial remarks"- per email conversation with Sue- June 2015.
Added Gibney text from Dallas Museum of Art 100 Years.
Added"Dutch Boy Laughing" as a former title, with the remark that it was changed after receiving evidence from Bernard B. Perlman in 1987, prior to Perlman's biography of Henri being released in 1988.
"Laughing Dutch Boy" used as title in State Fair of Texas, Art Department, Official Handbook-- 1909 and 1913.
Many additional bibliographic sources are in the file and could be added to the TMS record.
Removed TMS object tag because rule exists.
The exhibition history listed in the catalogue from Milwaukee Art Museum, Painters of a new Century (1991) includes 3 exhibitions not listed in our records. These are also listed in correspondence from Ann C. Stewarton behalf of Eleanor Jones Harvey in 2000. I added them to the text-entry field, but think that there is a chance that these exhibitions may represent an alternate version of this painting, since the titles were all similar.
1908: Philadelphia Art Club
1909: Exhibition title unknown, Charleston, SC
1909: Exhibition title unknown, Spartanburg, SC
Could not decide whether to include the following quotes from The Art Spirit that could be applied to this work (Sue's response- all three seem obtuse- skip them):
- Another way of saying it is to say that the head in space creates its own background. That the background becomes an extension of the head; and that it is all the canvas that is the head-not Just that part the material head occupies. (page 39)
- The painting of hair. By the hair I mean the head or that part of the head which is under the hair-for in art hair is only important as hair after it has performed another very expressive function. The hair is used to give shape to the head. A beautifully shaped head with poor hair is more important to us than a poorly shaped head and beautiful hair. The hair is used to draw the head. Therefore the terms of hair should be very simple as befits the dignity of a well-shaped head. Hair also is a wonderful means of vitalization. That is, by a wise use of hair the spirit of a facial expression, or a whole body expression, may be greatly enhanced. The features of the face have an anatomical responsibility, they must be in their places; hair has at certain irresponsibility. It may of itself do many things. You can make a constructive use of it. (page 47)
- The tramp sits on the edge of the curb. He is all huddled up. His body is thick. His underlip hangs. His eyes look fierce. I feel the coarseness of his clothes against his bare legs. He is not beautiful, but he could well be the motive for a great and beautiful work of art. The subject can be as it may, beautiful or ugly. The beauty of a work of art is in the work itself. (166)
Artist geography-- see Henri CC for the complete list of geographies to add to TMS
Born- Cincinnati, OH
Active- NYC
This is the full object information for the comparison image linked in web resources:
Robert Henri, Laughing Child, 1907. oil on canvas, 23-3/4 x 20-1/4 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York: Gift of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, 31.240. http://collection.whitney.org/object/1810
These two links to alternate versions of this portrait were not included as web resources. I did not have time to add them to Piction in order to be connected to this object online.
- Robert Henri, Laughing Child, 1907. Muskegon Museum of Art, Meskegon, MI. http://media.mlive.com/chronicle/entertainment_impact/photo/10923857-large.jpg
- Robert Henri, Cori and the Kitten, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 in. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Accession no. 54.1.
- (Image found via Pinterest, not the museum) http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f0/53/c8/f053c83923bbce44d6cd5165a6aab458.jpg
Note has been routed and revised. Tagging with UMO pending because of the archival photo to be added and tagging with completed because I have moved the GDoc to Queta's folder to be reviewed. (2/13/2017)
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Produced- Haarlem, Holland
Process/materials
oil paint
canvas
Historical periods
Individuals
Frans Hals
Subject terms
child
girl
sitting
smock
contrast
laughing
palette
portrait
teachers
models
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1909: Dallas Art Association, Dallas, TX [1] [2]
[1] Purchased following its inclusion in the the State Fair of Texas exhibition.
[2] The Dallas Arts Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1909.2
source file
object_notes_2_b-0366.xml.nores