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Portrait of a Woman (Miss Gertrude Bloede)
ca. 1881
Abbott Handerson Thayer
Born: Boston, Massachusetts 1849
Died: Monadnock, New Hampshire 1921
oil on canvas
16 5/8 x 14 in. (42.2 x 35.7 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of John Gellatly
1929.6.125
Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor,
Luce Foundation Center
Gertrude Bloede was the sister of Abbott Thayer’s first wife, Kate. The Bloedes were German immigrants who lived in Brooklyn and regularly entertained a circle of intellectuals. Both daughters were highly creative and independent: Kate was an artist, and Gertrude was a noted writer who published her romantic poetry under the pseudonym Stuart Sterne. In this portrait sketch, Thayer gave his sister-in-law a faraway look, as though she were lost in thought, perhaps composing a poem.
For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.
Keywords
Portrait female - Bloede, Gertrude, Miss - bust
painting
paint - oil
fabric - canvas
About Abbott Handerson Thayer
Born: Boston, Massachusetts 1849 Died: Monadnock, New Hampshire 1921
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Abbott Handerson Thayer
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