Laughing Girl, Robert Henri

Artwork Overview

Robert Henri, Laughing Girl
Robert Henri, Laughing Girl
Robert Henri
Laughing Girl
circa 1913
Robert Henri, artist
1865–1929
Laughing Girl, circa 1913
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: canvas; oil
Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 61 x 50.8 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 24 x 20 in
Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial
Accession number: 1928.1786
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Civic Leader and Art Collector: Sallie Casey Thayer and an Art Museum for KU

Sallie Casey Thayer purchased this painting along with several others in 1913 from Macbeth Gallery in New York. Established by Irish immigrant William Macbeth in 1892, the gallery sought to promote American artists, and it supported the careers of many, including Robert Henri. In 1908, Henri and the group of artists known as The Eight brought the gallery lasting renown by staging an independent exhibition to counter the restrictive policies of the National Academy of Design. The exhibition featured a recent painting created by Henri during a stay in Holland. Titled Laughing Child (1907), the work offered a contemporary response to Dutch 17th-century portraiture. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney acquired it, despite a lack of favorable acclaim to its depiction of a workingclass child. Henri subsequently produced a series of such spirited portraits. This later painting similarly captures the character of an exuberant young girl with its rapid brushwork suggesting spontaneous energy.

Inventing Childhood

As children became the central focus of the 19th-century Western family, they were increasingly featured as the subjects of formal portraits, infusing the canvas with a playfulness and honesty that delighted many artists. The Laughing Girl in Henri’s portrait speaks to the realities of 19th-century America, and especially the artist’s journalistic desire to record the social injustices of modern city life. While other artists portrayed the offspring of well-to-do patrons, Henri’s subjects were often working-class children. The lack of this child’s name in the title may indicate his practice of dressing up street children with studio props such as this pearl necklace. Indeed, Henri was a member of the Ash Can School, a group of artists in the 19th century who were best known for depicting gritty scenes of everyday urbanism.
Samuel Waugh’s portrait, around the corner to the right, offers a realistic glimpse into the everyday life of another 19th-century American family. Although Mrs. Stiles attempts to heed her nearby Bible, her attention wanders to her grandchild who plays with a
toy horse and cart, guiding the team with a whip.

Corpus - Project Redefine: Phase 2

Robert Henri (pronounced HEN-rye) emphasized the pride in humanity that he believed existed within children. Through quick brushstrokes, planes of pure color, and thick layers of oil paint, he captures the feeling of childhood as well as the personality of his subject. This sense of authenticity in painting grew out of a journalistic need to record the social injustices of modern city life. Henri was a member of the Ash Can School, a group of artists in the 19th century who were best known for depicting gritty scenes of everyday urbanism. While other artists portrayed the offspring of well-to-do patrons, Henri’s subjects were often working-class children. The lack of the child’s name in the title may indicate his practice of dressing up street urchins with studio props such as this pearl necklace.

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Natalie Svacina
Robert Henri (pronounced HEN-rye) emphasized the pride in humanity that he believed existed within children. Through quick brushstrokes, planes of pure color, and thick layers of oil paint, he captures the feeling of childhood as well as the personality of his subject. This sense of authenticity in painting grew out of a journalistic need to record the social injustices of modern city life. Henri was a member of the Ash Can School, a group of artists in the 19th century who were best known for depicting gritty scenes of everyday urbanism. While other artists portrayed the offspring of well-to-do patrons, Henri’s subjects were often working-class children. The lack of the child’s name in the title may indicate his practice of dressing up street urchins with studio props such as this pearl necklace.

Label Aug-2007:
This painting, one of his many portraits of children, shows Henri's ability to capture the character of his sitters. His rough style pays particular attention to the lighting contrast of his subject. Henri often expressed his view of art and life by saying: "The beauty in a work of art is in the work itself."

Henri (pronounced "hen-rye" with a decidedly American flavor) initially studied at the Pennsylvania Academy, but left in 1888 for Paris where he studied at the Academie Julian. He disliked academic methods that were concerned with detail and realistic representation; however, the avant-garde style of impressionism, characterized by its attempt to capture the eye's initial understanding of light, atmosphere, and movement, appealed to him. Two years later, Henri returned to Philadelphia where he joined a group of young American painters self-proclaimed "The Eight." This group, which included George Luks, became known as "The Ash Can School," so-named for their realistic portrayal of urban life in America.

Archive Label 1999:
Henri (pronounced "hen-rye" with a decidedly American flavor) initially studied at the Pennsylvania Academy, but left in 1888 for Paris where he studied at the Academie Julian. He disliked academic methods that were concerned with detail and realistic representation; however, the avant-garde style of impressionism, characterized by its attempt to capture the eye's initial understanding of light, atmosphere, and movement, appealed to him. Two years later, Henri returned to Philadelphia where he joined a group of young American painters self-proclaimed "The Eight." This group, which included George Luks, became known as "The Ash Can School," so-named for their realistic portrayal of urban life in America.

This painting, one of his many portraits of children, shows Henri's ability to capture the character of his sitters. His rough style pays particular attention to the lighting contrast of his subject. Henri often expressed his view of art and life by saying: "The beauty in a work of art is in the work itself.

Exhibitions

Corpus - Project Redefine: Phase 2
Kris Ercums, curator
2012–2015
Inventing Childhood
Cassandra Mesick Braun, curator
2016–2017
Civic Leader and Art Collector: Sallie Casey Thayer and an Art Museum for KU
Celka Straughn, curator
2017–2018
Sallie Casey Thayer and Her Collection
Carol Shankel, curator
1977
From the Collection of the University of Kansas
1971
The Organizers of the Armory Show: The New Spirit
1964
Art Misses You Too
Kate Meyer, curator
2020
Art Misses You Too Two
Kate Meyer, curator
2020

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute
I'm David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. At the south end of the Spencer’s 18th and 19th century gallery hangs a portrait of Mrs. Brice and Child by the American artist Rembrandt Peale, an 1812 copy of an earlier portrait by his father, Charles Willson Peale. Note the generally pale colors, the dark background, the oval faces and triangular composition, the repetition of pearls on Mrs. Brice’s gown, the fine brush work, and the stillness of the pose and setting - all suggesting a quality of timelessness. Now walk to the north end of the 19th century gallery to find Robert Henri’s 1910 painting, Laughing Girl. Many of the same elements of the Peale portrait are present here: a dark background, somewhat oval face, and repetition of pearls in the necklace. But my how things have changed in 100 years. The face colors in the Henri are vivid, the brushwork is coarse and rapid. His picture is full of spontaneous energy, suggesting that if he had painted it a few moments later, the girl’s pose would have been completely different. Henri is said to have commented that if you couldn’t paint a portrait in an hour, you probably were not very good. With thanks to William Hamilton for his text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I'm David Cateforis.