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From 1900-1901, Low and his wife visited the home of the artists Mary Fairchild (1858-1946) and Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937) in Giverny, France. The title given to this piece suggests the model is dressed for her Holy Communion. The MacMonnies were both well regarded members of the American Colony at Giverny, a collective of American artists who worked in the Impressionist style. Located on the Seine north of Paris, Giverny was home to the Impressionist master Claude Monet (1840-1926) and became an epicenter for artists hoping to study under him. After the MacMonnies’ divorce and the death of Low's first wife in 1909, Low and Mary were wed and in 1910 moved back to the United States.
Artist
Will Hicok Low
(American, 1853 - 1932)
La Communiante
Date1901
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 40 1/2 × 23 × 3 in. (102.9 × 58.4 × 7.6 cm)
Sight: 34 × 15 in. (86.4 × 38.1 cm)
Object numberN0018.2022
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Museum Purchase.
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextBorn in Albany, New York, Low was good friends with fellow artist Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932). The two attended the Albany Boy’s Academy. Low traveled to Europe alongside the Palmers in 1872. He entered the atelier of Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) in the École de Beaux Arts in Paris in 1873, subsequently joining the classes of Carolus-Duran (1837-1917) until 1877. Low married his first wife, Berthe Julienne, in France in 1878. Known primarily in America as a muralist, he painted a series of murals in the New York State Education Department rotunda in Albany. From 1900-1901, Low and his wife visited the home of the artists Mary Fairchild (1858-1946) and Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937) in Giverny, France. The title given to this piece suggests the model is dressed for her Holy Communion. The MacMonnies were both well regarded members of the American Colony at Giverny, a collective of American artists who worked in the Impressionist style. Located on the Seine north of Paris, Giverny was home to the Impressionist master Claude Monet (1840-1926) and became an epicenter for artists hoping to study under him. After the MacMonnies’ divorce and the death of Low's first wife in 1909, Low and Mary were wed and in 1910 moved back to the United States.
On View
On viewc.1855-1900
c. 1900
