Cleveland Museum of Art

Sewing near the Window

Berthe MorisotLinkedCulture matchlcp-9381859313bb

Date: about 1885
Medium: watercolor and graphite on paper
Culture: France
Department: Drawings
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 703436

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

This watercolor depicts Euphrasie, or Pasie, the nanny for Berthe Morisot’s young daughter Julie. Pasie appears in the artist’s apartment, sewing before a window during a contemplative moment. As with many of Morisot’s works in the medium, she used this example to develop the composition of a future painting into which she added Julie and more tightly cropped the scene. Watercolor was a constant interest for Morisot, and she practiced it from around 1870 throughout the rest of her career, creating both finished and preparatory works. Edgar Degas admired Berthe Morisot’s watercolors, and seeing an example inspired him to invite her to participate in the Impressionists’ first group exhibition.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund
Provenance: c. 1885-1895: By descent from the artist [1841-1895] | 1895-around 1960: Madame Ernest Rouart (née Julie Manet) [1878-1966], Paris | around 1960: (Charles Slatkin Gallery, New York, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Leo M. Rogers) | around 1960-1972: Mr. and Mrs. Leo M. Rogers, New York | 1972: (their sale, Christie’s, London, June 27, 1972, no. 108, likely sold to L’Art Ancien) | 1972-1973: (L’Art Ancien, Zurich, sold to Ian Woodner) | 1973-1990: Ian Woodner [1903-1990], New York, by descent | 1990-2025: Private collection, New York | 2025: (W. M. Brady & Co., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) | 2025-: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH