dark charcoal or black chalk drawing on tan paper of a woman, from waist up, in profile to R, looking down at knitting in her hands; arrived in black and gold wooden frame, floating mount

Old Woman Knitting, c. 1885

expand_more

Charcoalexpand_more

Gift of Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrisonexpand_more  2023.57.9

Not on Viewexpand_more

The prolific draftsman Albert Lebourg is largely remembered as a painter of Impressionist landscapes, but his artistic world was more varied. He ran an art school in Algeria, traveled to Egypt, invented fantasy battles, and occasionally worked in a Realist vein. As a dignified image of a modest, probably rural subject, this drawing belongs to the latter aspect of his activity.

The old woman wears glasses to do her knitting. She tries to keep warm and is bundled up in a coat and hat. She is close in appearance to a woman in another Lebourg drawing identified as Madame Ducroix Mallet and may be one in the same. Madame Ducroix Mallet ran a hotel in Pont du Château, a town in the Auvergne region of central France.

The image of Madame Ducroix Mallet is said to date from 1885. Though undated, the present drawing was also probably made in 1885, when Lebourg was in Pont du Château, painting snow scenes of the area.

Details
Title
Old Woman Knitting
Artist Life
1849 - 1928
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2023.57.9
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.

dark charcoal or black chalk drawing on tan paper of a woman, from waist up, in profile to R, looking down at knitting in her hands; arrived in black and gold wooden frame, floating mount