The Necklace

Thomas Wilmer Dewing prints bring quiet, dreamlike elegance into your home. Dewing was an American Tonalist painter, a founding member of the Ten American Painters, known for refined women in soft, misty settings. Our collection of fine art prints covers his figures in meadows and gardens, ladies in white and gold, musicians, readers and portraits.

About Thomas Wilmer Dewing

Thomas Wilmer Dewing was born in Boston on 4 May 1851 and worked as a lithographic apprentice until at least 1870. From 1876 he studied at the Académie Julian in Paris with Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefebvre, where he learned an academic technique of careful form and subtle texture that stayed with him throughout his career.

He returned to Boston in 1878 and the next year painted Morning, two women in Renaissance gowns. In 1880 he moved to New York, and in 1881 he began teaching at the Art Students League and married the painter Maria Oakey. From 1885 to 1905 the Dewings spent their summers at the Cornish Art Colony in New Hampshire.

He was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1888 and won medals in Paris (1889), Chicago (1893), Buffalo (1901) and St Louis (1904). In 1898 he was a founding member of the Ten American Painters, and he also joined the Society of Landscape Painters. His key collectors were John Gellatly and Charles Lang Freer, and the Freer Gallery in Washington has a room devoted to his paintings. He painted little after 1920 and died in New York on 5 November 1938.

Style and Subjects

Dewing is best known for Tonalism, an American style rooted in English Aestheticism. His favourite subject was the refined, aristocratic woman in a moody, dreamlike setting: seated playing instruments, writing letters or talking quietly together, as in The Recitation and Lady with a Lute.

His figures keep a distance from the viewer, who becomes a remote witness rather than a participant. Soft greens, golds and greys, careful drawing and delicate textures give his paintings a hushed, poetic atmosphere.

Famous Works

• Lady in Yellow (1888), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. A single woman in a softly lit interior.
• In the Garden (1892), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington. Women in long gowns in a misty meadow.
• Music (1895), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington. Women playing and listening to music.
• A Reading (1897), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington. Two women at a polished table, one reading.
• The Letter (1897), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A quiet scene of letter writing.
• Lady in White (No. 2) (1910), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington. A woman in white seen in soft light.
• Green and Gold (1917), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A late interior in his favourite colours.

Decorating with Dewing Prints

Dewing's soft palette makes his prints ideal for a bedroom, reading room or quiet living room. Meadow scenes like The Hermit Thrush or Spring suit calm, neutral and sage-green rooms.

His interiors with musicians and readers, like Music or A Reading, are a natural fit for a music room, library or study, and his ladies in white and gold work well in an elegant hallway or dressing room.

FAQ

Who was Thomas Wilmer Dewing?

Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851–1938) was an American painter, trained in Paris, known for Tonalist paintings of elegant women and a founding member of the Ten American Painters.

What is Tonalism?

An American style of painting rooted in English Aestheticism that uses soft, harmonious tones to create a moody, dreamlike atmosphere.

Was Dewing married to an artist?

Yes. His wife, Maria Oakey Dewing, was an accomplished painter.

Where can I see Dewing's paintings?

The Freer Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian has a room devoted to his work, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum hold his paintings.

Related Artists

• James Abbott McNeill Whistler: Aesthetic painter whose mood his early work was compared to
• Childe Hassam: co-founder of the Ten American Painters
• Julian Alden Weir: co-founder of the Ten American Painters
• John Henry Twachtman: co-founder of the Ten American Painters