Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Toilet of Helen, La Belle Hélène
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Burroughs was a painter and museum curator. He studied at the Art Students League in New York City and the Académie Julian in Paris with J.P. Laurens. He was curator of paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a painter he favored classical subjects given a modern twist, such as this painting of Helen of Troy making herself up at a very modern looking dressing-table while Troy burns in the background. Given that this painting is dated 1914, the year war broke out in Europe, the painting could also be read satirically.
The Walters Art Museum owns several works by the artist including a series of 20 oil sketches. Some were acquired by Henry Walters while other were gifted to the museum by of Burroughs' second wife, Louise, a writer and curator.
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Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Mrs. Bryson Burroughs (Louise Guerber) [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1977, by gift.
Geographies
USA (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 24 x W: 30 1/8 in. (61 x 76.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Bryson Burroughs, 1977
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.2537