Stettheimer and her sisters would host parties with many artists, writers, and socialites from around New York City. These lavish events would often inspire Stettheimer’s work, creating subject matter, and scenes for her to recreate in works such as this one. Sunday Afternoon in the Country is comprised of a series of vignettes, tiny moments frozen time and recreated around the canvas, making a much larger composition. This painting in particular was inspired by picnic the sisters hosted at their summer home on the bank of the Hudson River. Many of the figures can be identified such as Stettheimer herself, working at her easel in the upper right, tucked away among the tree. Dadaist Marcel Duchamp and photographer Edward Steichen can be seen in the bottom left corner making attempts at posing and snapping a photo respectively, while Stettheimer’s sister Ettie stands behind them with her arms raised.

SKU: 68503
Creator: Florine Stettheimer
Date: 1917
Original Medium: oil on canvas
Original Size: 54.75 x 40.75 in.
Location: Cleveland Museum of Art