Irving Ramsay Wiles
Irving Ramsay Wiles studied violin before switching to painting, and music remained central to his life and work. He began his formal study at the Art Students League in New York under William Merritt Chase, who became his mentor. In the winter of 1882, Wiles worked in the Tenth Street Studio Building, where Chase kept his famous studio. The two became close friends, and Wiles faithfully upheld Chase’s teachings for the rest of his career.
Have you ever learned to play a musical instrument?
Although Wiles depicted his wife, May, as the pianist in this painting, the title does not identify the women. The painting also doesn’t provide information about the specific composition they are playing. Instead, we as the viewers are asked to simply reflect on the act of making music, recalling James McNeill Whistler’s observation “as music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight.”
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd
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