Woman Hanging out the Wash by Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot (1841–1895), a founding member of the Impressionist circle, painted Woman Hanging out the Wash in 1875, a year after the group’s first independent exhibition ^[1]^[3]. The canvas, executed in oil on canvas, belongs to the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. ^[3]. Unlike grand historical or mythological subjects, the work turns to a fleeting moment of domestic labor, rendered with the loose brushwork and attention to natural light that defined the Impressionist project ^[1].

Provenance: from the artist’s studio to the National Gallery of Art

The painting’s ownership history traces from the artist’s family through private collections before entering the National Gallery of Art ^[3]. The museum’s catalogue records the work as Hanging the Laundry out to Dry, an alternate title for the same 1875 canvas ^[3]. The National Gallery of Art holds the work today, where it is part of the permanent collection ^[3].

Date	Event
1875	Painting executed by Berthe Morisot ^[3]
20th century	Acquired by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. ^[3]

Technique: oil on canvas and the Impressionist brush

Morisot’s technique in Woman Hanging out the Wash reflects the broader Impressionist method she helped pioneer ^[1]. The medium of oil on canvas allowed her to layer translucent strokes, capturing the play of light on fabric and foliage ^[3]. Her participation in seven of the eight Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886 placed her at the center of the movement’s experiments with color and spontaneity ^[1]. Art critic Gustave Geffroy in 1894 named her one of “Les trois grandes dames” — “The three great ladies” — of Impressionism, alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt ^[1].

Subject and iconography: domestic labor in the modern city

The subject — a woman hanging laundry outdoors — belongs to the Impressionist interest in modern life and everyday scenes ^[1]. Morisot’s choice of a domestic chore reflects her position within the movement as one of its few female members, offering a perspective distinct from the café scenes and boulevards favored by her male colleagues ^[1]. The outdoor setting, with its natural light, aligns with the Impressionist commitment to painting en plein air and capturing transient atmospheric effects ^[1].

Artist context: Morisot and the Impressionist circle

Morisot exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon in 1864, listed as a student of Joseph Guichard and Achille-François Oudinot, and her work appeared in six subsequent Salons ^[1]. In 1874, she joined the “rejected” Impressionists in their first independent exhibition, held at the studio of the photographer Nadar, alongside Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley ^[1]. She was married to Eugène Manet, brother of her friend and colleague Édouard Manet ^[1]. This network of relationships placed her at the heart of the movement’s development ^[1].

Collection history: the National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. houses the painting as part of its collection of French Impressionist works ^[3]. The museum’s catalogue entry identifies the medium as oil on canvas and dates the work to 1875 ^[3]. The painting’s presence in the gallery’s collection underscores the institutional recognition of Morisot’s contribution to Impressionism ^[3].