The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 7, 2026

A vertically oriented watercolor and graphite drawing depicts a seated woman with light skin tone facing our left. She wears a dark blue blouse and gray skirt, looking down at her hands with her light brown hair pinned up. Behind her, loose green and blue washes suggest foliage through a window. Pencil outlines and watery brushwork define the scene, with the signature "Berthe Morisot" inscribed in the bottom right corner.

Sewing near the Window

about 1885

Berthe Morisot

(French, 1841–1895)
France
watercolor and graphite on paper
Sheet: 28.6 x 22.9 cm (11 1/4 x 9 in.)
Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund 2025.209
Catalogue raisonné: Bataille and Wildenstein 729
Location: 004 Special Exhibition Gallery

Did You Know?

Edgar Degas admired Berthe Morisot’s watercolors, and seeing an example inspired him to invite her to participate in the Impressionists’ first group exhibition.

Description

This watercolor depicts Euphrasie, or Pasie, the nanny for Berthe Morisot’s young daughter Julie. Pasie appears in the artist’s apartment, sewing before a window during a contemplative moment. As with many of Morisot’s works in the medium, she used this example to develop the composition of a future painting into which she added Julie and more tightly cropped the scene. Watercolor was a constant interest for Morisot, and she practiced it from around 1870 throughout the rest of her career, creating both finished and preparatory works.
  • c. 1885-1895
    By descent from the artist [1841-1895]
    1895-around 1960
    Madame Ernest Rouart (née Julie Manet) [1878-1966], Paris
    around 1960
    (Charles Slatkin Gallery, New York, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Leo M. Rogers)
    around 1960-1972
    Mr. and Mrs. Leo M. Rogers, New York
    1972
    (their sale, Christie’s, London, June 27, 1972, no. 108, likely sold to L’Art Ancien)
    1972-1973
    (L’Art Ancien, Zurich, sold to Ian Woodner)
    1973-1990
    Ian Woodner [1903-1990], New York, by descent
    1990-2025
    Private collection, New York
    2025
    (W. M. Brady & Co., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2025-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Bataille, M.-L. and G. Wildenstein. Berthe Morisot: Catalogue des peintures, pastels et aquarelles. Paris: Les Beaux-Arts, 1961. Mentioned: p. 67, no. 729; Reproduced: fig. 718.
    Paintings, Drawings and Graphic Works by Manet, Degas, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Exh. Cat. Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1962. Mentioned: p. 58, no. 86.
    The Leo M. Rogers Collection. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, 1972. Mentioned: p. 13, no. 108. Reproduced: pl. 108.
  • Manet & Morisot. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (co-organizer) (March 29-July 5, 2026).
    Paintings, Drawings and Graphic Works by Manet, Degas, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Baltimore Museum of Art (April 18 – June 3, 1962).
  • {{cite web|title=Sewing near the Window|url=false|author=Berthe Morisot|year=about 1885|access-date=07 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.209