American Painting and Sculpture

WILLARD LEROY METCALF
(American, 1858-1925)

The Convalescent, 1904
Oil on canvas
Gift of Mrs. Louis Seelbach 1928.4

Born in Boston and trained as an illustrator and figure painter, Willard Metcalf was one of the first American artists to work in Giverny, France, the home of Claude Monet. Although Metcalf adopted the Impressionist interest in vibrant sunlight and color, his forms remain solidly defined, unlike the French Impressionists, who dissolved forms in light.

It has been suggested that the languid woman depicted in The Convalescent is Marguerite Hallé (or Haile), an actress and model who was also Metcalf’s mistress. Theirs was a troubled relationship. Marguerite was self-absorbed, Metcalf was noncommittal, and the two fought frequently. Their unstable and unhappy relationship eventually drove Marguerite to a failed suicide attempt in 1903, the year before this canvas was painted. The event apparently prompted a guilt-ridden Metcalf to marry her later that year.

To see a work by Willard Metcalf in the collection of the University of Kentucky Art Museum, click here.