Evening
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Body Language
The bold, open pose of the woman in Evening indicates that she is actively encouraging her partner’s attention. In contrast, the confidence man, or con man, in the adjacent painting stands aggressively near his female companion. His almost threatening stance and her downcast face suggest that he is not to be trusted.
Despite the physical closeness of these two sets of figures, their faces are inscrutable and the nature of their interactions remains ambiguous. Guy Pène du Bois frequently painted stiff figures with masklike faces, suggesting social alienation beneath the glitter and gloss of the party scene.
Caption
Guy Pène du Bois American, 1884–1958. Evening, 1929. Oil on canvas, 21 15/16 x 18 3/8 in. (55.7 x 46.7 cm) Frame: 28 x 24 1/4 x 2 3/4 in. (71.1 x 61.6 x 7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Daniel and Rita Fraad, Jr., 65.204.2. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 65.204.2_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Evening
Date
1929
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
21 15/16 x 18 3/8 in. (55.7 x 46.7 cm) Frame: 28 x 24 1/4 x 2 3/4 in. (71.1 x 61.6 x 7 cm)
Signatures
Signed and dated, lower left: "Guy Pene du Bois '29"
Credit Line
Gift of Daniel and Rita Fraad, Jr.
Accession Number
65.204.2
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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Frequent Art Questions
I’m looking at these three paintings by du Bois and the frame seems to be integral to the paintings which raises a question for me: Are they part of the art or does the museum choose the frames? I wonder that a lot when I’m looking at art in museums.
A lot of visitors wonder the same thing! My understanding is that most of often, paintings do come to the museum in a frame (which may or may not be original). If the museum is charged with selecting a frame we aim to remain true the period in which the painting was created.In the case of the du Bois paintings and other works from the 20th century, it is probable that they are still in their original frames! These frames may have been selected by the artist or an early collector. And, as du Bois was working in a post-photography world, the concept of “framing” and “cropping” would have been a consideration in his compositions.
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