One of two pale-skinned women standing by a window reads a letter and smiles in this vertical painting. Both women wear white caps. The woman reading the letter is the younger of the pair, and she stands to our left. She holds the paper to catch the light coming from the window, which is mostly covered with a white and pink-checked curtain. Her body faces us, but she turns her smooth-cheeked face to the letter in her hands. Her eyebrows are lifted, and her closed lips curve in a faint smile. She wears a wide-sleeved, black shirt over a white garment and a long brown skirt. The other, older…
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The Letter

painter Gari Melchers (American, 1860 - 1932)

1882

Medium
oil on canvas
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
overall: 94.62 × 66.99 cm (37 1/4 × 26 3/8 in.) ; framed: 124.46 × 97.79 × 8.89 cm (49 × 38 1/2 × 3 1/2 in.)
Culture
American
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CAB
Credit line
Corcoran Collection (Edward C. and Mary Walker Collection, 1937)
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art

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