Wild Roses Among Rye
1874
19th Century
13 1/2 in. x 9 in.
Fidelia Bridges,
American,
(1835–1923)
Object Type:
Work on Paper
Medium and Support:
watercolor and gouache over pencil on heavy wove paper
Credit Line:
Florence Griswold Museum, Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Accession Number:
2002.1.13
Somewhat unusually for her time, Fidelia Bridges forged a professional career as a painter in watercolor—a medium traditionally associated with amateurs or taught to women as a ladylike accomplishment. Bridges combined a meticulous attention to detail with a flair for compositions that immerse the viewer in nature. In this painting, the elegant arc of rye against a minimal backdrop suggests her awareness of Asian aesthetics, which were especially admired in the 1870s. Soon after completing Wild Roses in Rye, Bridges sold her first designs to the prominent lithography firm of Louis Prang; her commercial success followed professional accolades, including her election to the National Academy of Design. "Wild Roses Among Rye" may have been inspired by the landscape around Stratford, Connecticut, where the artist summered in the 1870s.