The Many Faces of Rebecca Whelan

The Many Faces of Rebecca Whelan

The Many Faces of Rebecca Whelan are a series of paintings by the artist Thomas Anshutz. He painted many women in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but his focus on one young woman was special. Rebecca Whelan was the daughter of a former president of the Academy where Anshutz worked. She was also his student. She became one of his favorite subjects to paint; in fact, he depicted her at least five times. The details of her face and the facial expressions he captures make his paintings of her stand out among all the others. With many of his other paintings of women, the brush strokes are looser. The facial features appear to be more artistic with thicker brush strokes and they are less naturalistic. Anshutz represented Rebecca Whelan as an idealized American woman. In his book Thomas Anshutz: Artist and Teacher, Randall Griffin discusses this series of paintings. He writes, “By emphasizing the attractiveness of Rebecca Whelan’s figure, Anshutz may have betrayed his own emotional attachment to the woman with whom he spent a great deal of time.” It is possible that the unique way in which Anshutz portrayed Rebecca was due to his affection for her.

Thomas Anshutz, The Incense Burner, 1905, oil on canvas, 64 x 40 in. (162.6 x 101.6 cm),

Currently on display at the Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine arts http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2012/06/thomas-pollock-anshutz-part-1.html

The Incense Burner was the first painting Anshutz created of Rebecca Whelan in 1905. In it, she wears a rich, black, floor-length dress with a square neckline. The dress has thin, transparent, short sleeves. It is adorned with gold detail made to look like sequins. There is a spray of gold flowers on one side. Rebecca is wearing pale gold jewelry, and she has a gold ribbon in her hair. The gold accents contrast with her extremely pale skin and dark hair, which is pulled up. She is smiling, although the expression seems almost forced. Her eyes seem wistful or sad. She seems to be looking at something outside of the painting. She sits on a bench and leans forward slightly. The bench cushion is depicted in great detail. The cushion is patterned, and it is painted in muted pinks, blues, and greens and has a dark navy border on a white background. Anshutz paints Rebecca in a naturalistic style. The background is dark, muted greens and browns, and you can see the brush work. The brush strokes are also visible in the wooden floor. There is also a small table in the back ground which is painted with the looser strokes.

Thomas Anshutz, A Rose, 1907, oil on canvas, 58 x 43 7/8 in. (147.3 x 111.4 cm), 

 Accession Number: 1993.324, on display in Gallery 768 http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/14931

A Rose was created in 1907. This painting depicts Rebecca in a room with a rich, patterned rug that is made with muted blues and creams on a peach background. Both the rug and the background are painted with thick brushstrokes. The background is very dark, painted in brown and black tones that contrast with the rug. There is also a large desk with a single red rose resting upon it. The darkness causes the brighter colors of the woman’s dress and her pale skin to stand out, which draws the eye toward her and makes her the primary focus of the painting. She wears a bright pink dress. The dress has a ruffled bottom and sleeves, and it has gold details up the bodice. Lace surrounds the neckline and the throat. She also is wearing two gold bracelets, and she has a gold ribbon in her dark hair, which is pulled up. The dress and detailing make her appear wealthy. The woman sits with one hand resting in her lap, while the other is behind her head. She tilts her head back and rests it on her hand. The chair is perpendicular to the viewer, and the woman slightly slouches and twists in the seat, pulling her head out of profile and just barely towards the viewer. She is looking off at something outside the painting. Her eyebrows are drawn down, and her eyes are slightly squinted, giving the impression that she is stressed or deep in thought. Her mouth is partly open, revealing some teeth, and her jaw is tense. Her face is painted with the most attention to detail, and the colors are blended in a smooth, natural way, but the brush strokes are still slightly visible. The composition of this painting creates interest. The canvas is bifurcated along a diagonal that runs from the lower left corner up to the upper right and is formed by the woman’s seated body. While a balanced composition overall, the diagonal orientation creates a sense of energy.

Thomas Anshutz, Figure Piece, 1909, oil on canvas, 

Currently on display at the National Academy Museum New  York, http://www.nationalacademy.org/collections/artists/detail/29/#/list/221

Figure Piece was created in 1909, and Rebecca is again seated. In this painting, her body in elongated by her posture. She is slouched in a wicker chair. Her dark hair is pulled up, and there are pale green ribbons in it. Her face is tilted slightly down and to the right. She has on minimal jewelry, wearing only a gold bracelet. She is wearing a pale green gown that is pooled up by her feet. The bottom of the dress is made with thicker brush strokes, adding texture and volume to it. There is lace detail in the bodice of the dress, but this dress seems more casual than the other dresses in which Thomas Anshutz depicts Rebecca Whelan. There is a shawl hanging off the right side of the chair. The background is a velvety black with a lighter greenish color on the left side. The composition is angled, as in the painting A Rose, and this shows that there is more life in the picture, which, at first glance, seems to be quite simple and motionless. This painting seems to be more personal. The subject appears as though she is unaware of being painted, as if Anshutz is trying to complete this painting before she wakes up.

Thomas Anshutz, The Tangra, 1909, oil on canvas, 80 x 40 in. (203.2 x 101.6 cm),

Currently on display at the Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine arts

 http://pafa.org/museum/The-Collection-Greenfield-American-Art-Resource/Tour-the-Collection/Category/Collection-Detail/mkey--4/

The Tanagra was also painted in 1909; it shows Rebecca standing next to a small statue and almost mimicking the stance. The figure is of a woman tilting her head to the side and holding up her skirt slightly. This is the first painting in which Rebecca is depicted standing. Rebecca is resting one of her arms on the pedestal behind the small figure. The other arm is behind her back. She is facing the statue with her head slightly tipped forward. She is gazing at the statue. Rebecca is wearing a white dress with pink flowers and green leaves. There are also pale pink satin ribbons on the dress. There is black detailing around the collar, and, on the front of the bodice, there are small black bows. The sleeves go past her elbows and are made of lace. She has a dark brown hat on her head. Her hair is pulled up and seems to be a slightly lighter color than in the other paintings Anshutz made of her. This could be because of the dark background and hat; he might have wanted her hair to be more visible. The background is rendered in dark tones, and the detailed rug on which she is standing has pale peaches and teals. The pedestal is also dark, and it is made with more painterly brush strokes.

Thomas Anshutz, Portrait of Rebecca H. Whelan, 1910,

oil on canvas, 60 x 40 in., Currently on display at the ARC Museum http://wikipaintingings.org/en/search/pollock/1

 

            The final painting of Rebecca is A Portrait of Rebecca H. Whelan painted in 1910. This is the most detailed of the paintings. The background is a white wall with paneling. A gold candle holder hangs on the wall to her right. It has curved, detailed lines and is reflecting the light. The carpet is made in reds, blues, greens, and purples. It is very detailed. It is in a grid pattern with vines or some other forms separating the color blocks. Even though the carpet is detailed, it is nothing compared to the naturalistic way Anshutz painted Rebecca. Rebecca is seated in a chair slightly off center. The chair is a dark brown with a red velvet cushion. The chair is at a slight angle. Rebecca is wearing a red and white dress. The swirling detail in the skirt and sleeves of the dress is crisp. There are white ribbons along the bottom and the sleeves and at the waist. She has a lace collar. A flower, which appears to be a poinsettia, is pinned to her bodice. She is holding a black fan in her lap, and the other hand is behind her head, resting on part of the chair. She is looking slightly up and off of the painting, like she has been in most of Anshutz’s works. Her hair is pulled up, as in the other paintings, but it appears looser and less severe. She also has a red ribbon or hat on. Her facial expression appears thoughtful, and, unlike in The Rose or The Incense Burner, whatever she is thinking about is not particularly serious. She seems older in this painting, and some of her obstinacy has faded. She looks sophisticated and put together.

-Chelsea VanDyk