This painting was recently featured at the Haggin Museum's stunning show, "Full Sun, American Women Artists Illuminate the Haggin Museum".
It was an honor to have one of my paintings hang in a museum amongst the like of Henry Watrous, Mary Cassatt, William Merrit Chase, Albert Bierstadt and other greats!
We were asked to use one of the paintings of the old Master's as an inspiration for a new work of our own, and I chose Watrous' Sophistication as the vehicle for my inspiration.
Check it out:
In “Coffee, Mohair, and Moi”, a modern-day fashionista exudes perfume, glamour, and quiet sophistication as she sips her latte in a coffee shop. Seemingly overdressed for a coffee break, one wonders why she is there. Her ensemble indicates that it has been thoughtfully put together with incredible care, and even her manicured fingernails are color-coordinated to demonstrate her fashion savoir-faire. This painting was inspired by Henry Wilson Waltrous’s “Sophistication”, and is an attempt to portray his subject in a contemporary light. Painted about a century ago, in “Sophistication” Waltrous employed dark-colored clothing in his femme fatale against a light, superficial background. In the modern interpretation, the artist chose light-colored clothing against a darker background to demonstrate more starkly the contrast of the times. The title Waltrous gave his painting for its exhibition at the Nation Academy of Design in 1908 was “A Cup of Tea, a Cigarette, and She” - implying the presence of an unseen male admirer. The modern painting’s title reflects a play on words as well, reflecting the self- indulgence and personal absorption often attributed to American women of today, hence the use of the word ‘Moi’ in the title.
This painting is framed in a gorgeous designer floater frame and is now available. Please contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, if you would like more information on this work.
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