Spring Morning In the Park

Title: Spring Morning In the Park
Artist: Alice Barber Stephens
Date: 1890

I chose this painting because Whitney Chadwick gives mention to Alice Barber Stephens and her painting The Female Life Class (1879). Unlike her painting in the book, this painting is Impressionistic. One of the main characteristics of Impressionism was capturing light in the moment. The first thing the viewer notices is the light source. It looks as if Barber Stephens captured a moment in time, a freeze-frame of the mother, baby, and nanny(?). It's like she took a picture. The female figure on the right in the background sitting on the bench is kind of cropped, which also makes the painting appear more candid. Perhaps this paiting was a result of the influence of photography.