The prominent American painter’s daughter depicted in Chinese gown and accessories

by Ani Margaryan

The Smithsonian Archives of the American Art reveal two photographic prints of an unidentified photographer, entitled “Gladys Wiles”, ca. 1910, from the collection of Richard Field Maynard papers.
The model, the daughter of the outstanding American portraitist Irving Ramsey Wiles (1861 – 1948), is captured from head to toe in Qing Chinese traditional attire and accessories, reflecting the dominant taste and increasing interest in Asian culture, fashion, and goods.
Interestingly enough, the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) (located in downtown El Paso, Texas) houses an oil painting authored by Irving Wiles (“Gladys in Chinese Robes”, 1920-29), that bears a strong resemblance to the photograph in terms of the model, her pose, gesture, and the same Chinese gown. The painter added solely a table with the Chinese buddha figurine, which echoes the gesture of the female protagonist.
Although It is hard to make a statement that the author of the photography is Wiles himself, however, at the time the portraitists were largely practicing the working style of taking photos of their models in the studio and later employing those photographic shots in their art-making process through borrowing certain compositional motives and backdrops from them.