About the Artwork
Benson’s portrait of his eldest daughter, Elisabeth, eloquently summarizes the artist’s interests during the early twentieth century—the exploration of outdoor light and the depiction of lively, radiant, young womanhood. Although Benson used a camera in his working process, he idealized his subjects when he transferred them to canvas. The images of his daughters in outdoor light remain the quintessential vision of American womanhood at the turn of the century.
My Daughter Elisabeth
ca. 1914
Frank Weston Benson
1862-1951
American
Unknown
Oil on canvas
Unframed: 44 × 37 inches (111.8 × 94 cm) Framed: 55 3/8 × 44 3/8 × 4 inches (140.7 × 112.7 × 10.2 cm)
Paintings
American Art before 1950
Detroit Museum of Art Purchase, Special Membership and Donations Fund with contributions from Philip, David and Paul R. Gray, and their sister Mrs. William R. Kales
16.31
Copyright Not Evaluated
Markings
Signed, lower left corner: F. W. Benson
Provenance
until 1916, the artist, Frank Weston Benson;1916-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
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Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Burroughs, Clyde. “Annual Exhibition.” Bulletin of the Detroit Museum of Art, 10, no. 8 (April 1916): p. 9.
“The Second Annual Exhibition.” Bulletin of the Detroit Museum of Art 10, no. 9 (May 1916): pp. 3, 14 (ill.).
“A Painting by Frank W. Benson.” Bulletin of the Detroit Museum of Art 11, no. 2-3 (November-December 1916): pp. 19-20 (ill.).
Second Annual Exhibition of Painting by American Artists. Exh. cat., DIA. Detroit, 1916, pp. 6-7 (ill.).
American Beauty: Paintings and Sculpture from the Detroit Institute of Arts, 1770-1920. Exh. cat., DIA. Detroit, 2001, no. 73, pp. 99-100.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Frank Weston Benson, My Daughter Elisabeth, ca. 1914, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Museum of Art Purchase, Special Membership and Donations Fund with contributions from Philip Gray, et al., 16.31.
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