Elaine

Arts of the Americas

1874

Toby Edward Rosenthal (American, 1848–1917)

Toby Edward Rosenthal found inspiration for this composition in Idylls of the King, a 19th-century version of the Arthurian legends written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In the poem, Elaine dies of a broken heart after being spurned by Sir Lancelot; Rosenthal’s painting depicts Elaine’s postmortem voyage from Astolat to Camelot: “In her right hand the lily, in her left / The letter—all her bright hair streaming down.” Rosenthal’s artistic choices reflect the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites, a group of English artists who favored highly naturalistic details, richly colored surfaces, and subjects drawn from medieval literary sources. After it was purchased by an American patron, Rosenthal’s work sparked Elaine hysteria: clubs were formed in her honor, dirges and waltzes were composed, and copies of Idylls of the King sold out in bookstores.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Toby Edward Rosenthal
Title: Elaine
Place: Munich (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1874
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: Signed, lower right: "Toby E. Rosenthal Munich. 1874"
Dimensions: 97.9 × 158.8 cm (38 9/16 × 62 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Maurice Rosenfeld
Reference Number: 1917.3
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/72320/manifest.json

Walt M. Fisher, “Toby Rosenthal: How He Became a Painter,” Overland Monthly 14, 3 (March 1875), 284–87.
Charles W. Stoddard, “A Note from Abroad,” Overland Monthly 15, 6 (December 1875) p. 589.
Benjamin E. Lloyd, “Light and Shades of San Francisco” (Bancroft & Co., 1876), 416–19.
unknown, “The Jew in San Francisco: the Last Half of the Century,” Overland Monthly, 25 (April 1895), 381–410.
Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, IV (October 1910) p. 27.
Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, XI (February 1917), 272, 278.
Eugene Neuhaus, “The History and Ideals of American Art” (Stanford University Press, 1931), 154–55.
Gene Hailey, ed. “California Art Research”
(1936–37) vol. 3.
William M. Kramer and Norton B. Stern, “The Great “Elaine” Robbery: The Crime Against Civilization,” Journal of the West, 10, 4 (October 1971),585–95.
William M. Kramer and Norton B. Stern, “Toby E. Rosenthal: San Francisco’s Artist” (Santa Susana Press, 1978).

Berlin, Germany, Konigliche Academie der Kunst, Verzeichnisse der Werke lebender kunstler ausgestellt in den Salen des Konig, Sept. 6–Nov. 1, 1874, no. 669.
Boston, Elilot, Blakeslee & Noyes Gallery, Jan–Feb. 1875.
San Francisco, Snow and May Gallery, Mar. 30–Apr. 10, 1875.
Philadelphia, Centennial Exhibition of 1876, 1876, no. 177.
San Francisco, Snow & Company, Mar. 1885.
College of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, Paintings from the Nickerson Collection, Extended Loan, Dec. 20, 1920 – Nov. 22, 1949.
Evanston, Illinois, Scott Hall, Northwestern University, Apr. 2–9, 1954.
Cincinnati Art Museum, Munich & American Realism in the 19th Century, Apr. 20–May 28, 1978; Milwaukee Art Center, July 13–Aug. 27, 1978; Sacramento, E.B. Crocker Art Gallery, Oct. 28–Dec. 10, 1978.
Detroit Institute of Arts, The Quest for Unity: American Art between World’s Fairs, 1876–1893, Aug. 22–Oct. 30, 1983, cat. 11.

The artist, Munich, Germany, 1874; sold to Mrs. Robert C. Johnson, San Francisco, Fall 1874; sold to Mr. Boardman, New York, c. 1885; sold to Mr. Joseph Rosenberg, Heidelberg, Germany, May 1887; sold to Mrs. Maurice Rosenfeld, Chicago, c. 1891; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1917.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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