About the Artwork
Metcalf’s use of pointillist strokes to suggest falling snow—the “veil” of the title—and the soft tonalist palette made this one of his most popular paintings, much praised by contemporary critics and art lovers alike. The square shape of the canvas adds to the sense of quiet and serenity that Metcalf sought in his work. Blue violet underpainting dotted with red unifies the composition and lends an unexpected warmth to the gray winter light. Metcalf spent the first of many winters in Cornish, New Hampshire, in 1909. This painting is one of two nearly identical canvases with the same title painted during this period.
The White Veil
1909
Willard Leroy Metcalf
1858-1925
American
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Oil on canvas
Unframed: 36 × 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm) Framed: 49 1/2 × 49 7/16 × 2 3/4 inches (125.7 × 125.6 × 7 cm)
Paintings
American Art before 1950
Gift of Charles Willis Ward
15.12
Copyright Not Evaluated
Markings
Signed and dated, lower left corner: W. L. Metcalf '09
Provenance
Charles Willis Ward1915-present, gift to 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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Cortissoz, Royal. “Willard L. Metcalf: An American Landscape Painter.” Appleton’s Booklovers Magazine 6 (October 1905): p. 510.
Fourth Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists. Exh. cat., Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery. Buffalo, New York, 1909, no. 111.
Ausstellung Amerikanischer Kunste. Exh. cat., Konigliche Akademie der Kunste. Berlin, 1910, no. 66. [as De weisseSchleier]
Burroughs, Clyde. “Pictures Loaned to Other Exhibitions.” Bulletin of the DMA 5, no. 4 (October 1911): p. 43.
Special Exhibition of Paintings by Willard L. Metcalf. Exh. cat., Detroit Museum of Art. Detroit, 1911, no. 1.
A Collection of Oil Paintings by Mr. Willard L. Metcalfe [sic]. Exh. cat., City Art Museum. St. Louis, 1911, no. 2.
Exhibition of Paintings by Willard L. Metcalf. Exh. cat., John Herron Art Institute. Indianapolis, 1911, no. 2.
Special Exhibition of Landscapes by Mr. Willard L. Metcalf. Exh. cat., Cincinnati Art Museum. Cincinnati, 1911, no. 2.
Inaugural Exhibition. Exh. cat., Museum of Art. Toledo, Ohio, 1912, no. 67.
Burroughs, Clyde. “Contemporary American Art: Williard L. Metcalf.” Bulletin of the DMA 7, no. 3 (July 1913): p. 54 (ill.).
DeVeer, Elizabeth and Richard Boyle. Sunlight and Shadow: The Life and Art of Williard L. Metcalf. New York, 1967, pp. 230-231 (ill.).
American Impressionism. Exh. cat., Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington. Seattle, 1980, p. 134 (ill.).
Gerdts, William H. American Impressionism. New York, 1984, pp. 196-198 (ill.).
Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. Exh. cat. Bunkamura Museum of Art. Tokyo, 1989, no. 73 (ill.).
Henshaw, Julia P., ed. The Detroit Institute of Arts: A Visitor’s Guide. Detroit, 1995, p. 75 (ill.).
Winter’s Promise: Willard Metcalf in Cornish, New Hampshire. Exh. cat., Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College. Hanover, New Hampshire, 1999, no. 38 (ill.).
American Beauty: Painting and Sculpture from the Detroit Institute of Arts, 1770-1920. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 2002, pp. 96-97, no. 70 (ill.).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Willard Leroy Metcalf, The White Veil, 1909, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Charles Willis Ward, 15.12.
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