France, 19th century / 1878
Seaside (July: Specimen of a Portrait)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Seaside (July: Specimen of a Portrait) as painting (France, 19th century · 1878).
From 1869 to 1876, under the pseudonym Coïdé , James Tissot published political cartoons in the British weekly magazine Vanity Fair , causing circulation to skyrocket.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on fabric and credits James Tissot (French, 1836–1902).
The museum's collection notes: This painting depicts a woman reclining upon an upholstered couch on a summer day while light filters through a partially closed awning that provides a glimpse of a beach in the background. James Tissot’s mature works from this time were more likely to convey a mood—here of a languid summer afternoon—than a specific narrative. The model for this painting was Kathleen Newton, born Kathleen Ashburnham Kelly (1854–1882), the artist’s lover from 1876 until her untimely death from tuberculosis at the age of 28.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtSeaside (July: Specimen of a Portrait)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.