In this interior scene of the artist’s summer residence in Maine, Frank Weston Benson depicted his daughter Elisabeth curled up in a rattan chair near a large fireplace. A key figure of American Impressionism, Benson is best known for his outdoor figural compositions—often featuring his wife or children—in sun-filled, breezy landscapes. Rainy Day, in contrast, is a study of the subtler effects of interior light, with flat, overcast lighting filtering in from the left and embers glowing at far right. In the late 19th century, painters including Benson, Edmund Tarbell, and Thomas Wilmer Dewing composed scenes of women in interiors in a contemplative state or engaged in activities like sewing and reading, suggesting links between domesticity, femininity, and cultural refinement.
“The Autumn Exhibition,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, IV (January 1911), 36, 47 (ill.).
William H. Downes, “The Spontaneous Gaiety of Frank W. Benson’s Work,” Arts and Decoration, 1 (March 1911), 197 (ill.).
“Acquisitions,” Friends of American Art Second Year Book (1911–12), 13, 16 (ill.).
“Acquisitions,” Friends of American Art Third Year Book (1912–13), 15, 18 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago General Catalogue (1913), 146.
“Acquisitions,” Friends of American Art Fourth Year Book (1913–14), 17, 20 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago General Catalogue (1914), 152.
“Acquisitions,” Friends of American Art Fifth Year Book (1914–15), 20, 36 (ill.).
Friends of American Art Announcement (1919), 1 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago Handbook of Paintings and Drawings (1920), 39.
Francis Hamilton, “Artist’s Homes as They Paint Them,” International Studio, 81, (September 1925), 415 (ill.), 416–17.
A Guide to Paintings in the Permanent Collection, 365 (1925), 105 (ill.), 126.
Rilla Evelyn Jackman, American Arts (1928), pl. 108 (ill.).
A Guide to the Paintings in the Permanent Collection (1932), 125 (ill.), 142.
Margaret Rape, “College Exhibits 50 Paintings of Art Institute,” The Lawrentian (September, 1937) 12.
Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago (1961), 22.
Henry James, Washington Square (1968), 1 (ill.).
Donelson F. Hoopes, The American Impressionists (1972), 100, 101 (ill.).
Judith A. Barter et al., The Age of American Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2011), no. 11.
Saint Louis Art Museum, 2nd Annual Exhibition of Paintings by American Artists, Sept. 26, 1907, cat. 6.
New York, Montross Gallery, 11th Annual Exhibition of Ten American Painters, Mar. 17–Apr. 4, 1908, cat. 3.
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Ten American Painters, Apr. 11–May 3, 1908, cat. 5.
Cincinnati Art Museum, 15th Annual Exhibition of American Art, May 23–July 20, 1908, cat. 239.
New York, Macbeth Gallery, An Exhibition of Paintings by a Group of Boston Artists, Apr. 16–29, 1909, cat. 1.
Saint Louis Art Museum, 4th Annual Exhibition of Paintings by American Artists, Sept. 12, 1909, cat. 15.
Boston, St. Botolph Club, Paintings by Frank W. Benson, Jan. 10–29, 1910, cat.12.
Cincinnati Art Museum, 17th Annual Exhibition of American Art, May 21–July 20, 1910, cat. 3.
Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute, Fourteenth Annual Exhibition, May 2–June 30, cat. 16.
Art Institute of Chicago, Twenty–third Annual Exhibition of American Art, Oct. 18–Nov. 27, 1910, cat. 19.
Toledo Museum of Art, The Inaugural Exhibition, Jan. 17–Feb. 12, 1912, cat. 7.
Washington DC Corcoran Gallery of Art, Paintings, Etchings and Drawings by Frank W. Benson, Mar. 24–Apr. 13, 1921, cat. 26.
University of Chicago, Quadrangle Club, Oct. 20, 1922–Apr. 16, 1923.
Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute, An Exhibition of Paintings, Etchings and Water Colors by Frank W. Benson, Jan. 4–Feb. 15, 1924, cat. 2.
Milwaukee Art Institute, An Exhibition of Forty Paintings Presented to the Art Institute of Chicago by the Friends of American Art, Mar. 1–29, 1925, cat. 5 .
Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress, Loan Exhibition for Paintings and Sculpture, June 1–Oct. 31, 1933.
Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress, Loan Exhibition of Art for 1934, June 1–Nov. 1, 1934.
Chicago, Garfield Park Art Galleries, Exhibition of Greek Sculptures and American Paintings lent by the Art Institute of Chicago, Nov. 5, 1935–Mar. 3, 1936, cat. 5.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Centennial Exposition, Department of Fine Arts, June 6–Nov. 29, 1936, cat. 3.
Appleton, Wis., Lawrence College, New Alexander Gymnasium, Loan Exhibition of American Paintings at Lawrence College, Sept. 22–Oct. 4, 1937, no. 16.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Frank W. Benson, Edmund C. Tarbell: Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Prints, Nov. 16–Dec. 15, 1938, cat. 29.
Art Institute of Chicago, Half a Century of American Art, Nov. 16, 1939–Jan. 7, 1940, cat. 14 .
New York Graphic Society, Jan–Apr. 1942.
South Bend Art Association, American Painting in the Manner of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries, Feb. 10–Mar. 31, 1948, cat. 4.
Evanston, Illinois, Scott Hall, Northwestern University, Apr. 2–9, 1954.
Madison Art Center, Exhibition of Traditional Paintings from the Art Institute, Mar. 1956.
Katonah Museum of Art, New York, At Home with Art: Paintings in American Interiors, 1780–1920, Oct. 1–Dec. 31, 1995, cat. 26 .
Salem, Massachusetts, Peabody Essex Museum, The Art of Frank W. Benson: American Impressionist, Sept. 24, 2000–Feb. 25, 2001, cat. 23.
Rockland, Maine, Farnsworth Art Museum, Impressionist Summers: Frank W. Benson’s North Haven, June 17–Dec. 2012.
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