Susan Walker Morse (The Muse)
ca. 1836–37
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
73 3/4 x 57 5/8 in. (187.3 x 146.4 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Herbert L. Pratt, 1945
Accession Number
45.62.1
Tags
About this artwork
This full-length portrait depicts Susan Walker Morse, the eldest daughter of Samuel F. B. Morse, painted between 1836 and 1837 when she was approximately seventeen years old. She sits in an imagined grand setting with a sketchbook in her lap and pencil in hand, her eyes raised in contemplation, embodying the muse-like air that prompted the canvas's informal title. The elaborate composition places the young woman in a theatrical interior with dramatic drapery and classical architectural elements,...
Art Historical Context
Samuel F. B. Morse’s *Susan Walker Morse (The Muse)* captures the artist’s eldest daughter at around seventeen, seated in a grand, imagined interior with sketchbook in hand. Painted between 1836 and 1837, the full-length portrait shows her gazing upward in quiet contemplation, embodying the spirit of artistic inspiration. The theatrical setting, complete with sweeping drapery and classical architectural, elevates the young woman into a symbolic figure of drawing and design. Morse drew on his European training, echoing the rich colors and dramatic compositions of Rubens and Veronese, to create...