Woman Spinning

c. 1855–60

Millet painted many images that focus on traditional rural activities, often imbuing the labor and laborers with dignity. In this painting, a woman concentrates intently on her work, spinning flax in a shadowy, humble interior. The artist was especially interested in the subtle colors of worn and faded homespun fabric. The warm red of the woman’s shirt and the vibrant purple of the ribbon on the distaff enliven an otherwise muted color scheme.

Medium	oil on panel
Dimensions	15 3/8 x 11 5/8 in. (39.1 x 29.5 cm) Frame: 21 3/8 x 18 1/4 x 2 1/2 in. (54.3 x 46.4 x 6.4 cm)
Object Number	1955.531
Acquisition	Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status	Off View

Image Caption

Jean-François Millet, Woman Spinning, c. 1855–60, oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.531

Select Bibliography

. L'Exposition Rétrospective de Dusseldorf.. 1881.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Five: French Paintings of the 19th Century. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1956. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1963. Minnesota Historical Society, James J. Hill House. Homecoming: The Art Collection of James J. Hill. May 18-Sept. 21, 1991. Darcel, Alfred. "L'Exposition Rétrospective de Dusseldorf". Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Courrier Européen de l'Art et de la Curiosité. Paris. 1881:pp. 15-32. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Lees, Sarah, ed. Nineteenth-Century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven and London: distributed by Yale University Press, 2012.

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Provenance

Henri Hecht, Paris (by 1876); [Georges Petit, Paris, c. 1880], Benoît-Constant Coquelin, Paris (by 1890); [Durand-Ruel, Paris, sold to Hill, 1891, as Woman Spinning]; James J. Hill, Saint Paul, Minnesota (1891–d. 1916); Mary T. Hill, Saint Paul, Minnesota, his wife, by descent (1916–d. 1921); James Norman Hill, Saint Paul, Minnesota, her son, by descent (from 1921); sale, Plaza Art Galleries, New York, 16 Nov. 1939, no. 66, as The Spinner, sold to Acquavella; [Acquavella Galleries, New York, from 1939]; Edwin Thanhouser, Great Neck, New York (until 1945, his sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 13 Dec. 1945, no. 34, ill., as La Fileuse, sold to Knoedler); [Knoedler, New York, sold to Clark, 7 Jan. 1946]; Robert Sterling Clark (1946–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955.