The Letter – Charles Stuart Forbes (1865–1926)

This painting depicts a lady in a beautiful green dress as she reads a letter, concentration evident upon her face. Her face remains impassive, but the hand on the table suggests an emotional reaction, as she is leaning towards an object for stability. Her appearance is modest - she is well dressed and her hair is styled into a perfect updo, but she is not garish or gaudy.

The artwork is painted with a modest and subdued palette, only adding to the notion of the lady being a modest and reserved character. Apart from the lady’s soft skin, the only other area that stands out is the blue orchid on the table behind her. The loose brushstrokes indicate a lowly lit scene, and create a sense of spontaneity that lends itself to the quotidian subject matter.

Charles Stuart Forbes

Forbes was born in Geneva in 1865, the son of American parents. He studied with Carolus-Duran in Paris in 1887, where he met John Singer Sargent. During this time, Forbes exhibited at the Paris Salon and the Salon of the Societe Natonale des Beaux Arts, and won a medal at the Exposition Universelle de Paris in 1889. Forbes is best known for being one of five artists - with the other four being Sargent, Julian Pennington, Ralph Wormley Curtis and Julian Story - invited to paint poet Robert Browning’s portrait at Browning’s son’s Palazzo Rezzonico home in Venice. Forbes stayed in Venice for a period, where he painted the above painting, before relocating to America. He spent time in Boston and was part of the Boston Art Club, before settling in New York.

As a token of their friendship, Singer painted a portrait of Forbes in 1889, which can be found in the Henry E Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino, California. Forbes passed away in 1926.