Artwork
Woman Floating in a River Attended by Several Female Spirits
Woman Floating in a River Attended by Several Female Spirits is a charcoal drawing by the Impressionist artist Frederick Trapp Friis. It dates from 1895 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Frederick Trapp Friis’s drawing, Woman Floating in a River Attended by Several Female Spirits, dates to around 1895. Executed on tan laid paper, the work depicts a reclining figure in dark water surrounded by four ethereal women whose hair and robes merge with the surrounding mist. The composition conveys a quiet, otherworldly scene rendered in a compact, gestural manner.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure lies on her back, seemingly weightless, while the surrounding spirits hover protectively above her. Their elongated forms and translucent appearance suggest a liminal space between the material world and the realm of the unseen, evoking themes of transition, guardianship, and the fluid boundary between life and the spiritual.
Technique & Style
Friis employed charcoal as the primary medium, enhancing the drawing with ink spatter that imitates the spray of water. The combination of bold charcoal lines and delicate, stippled marks creates a contrast between solid form and atmospheric suggestion, while the loose handling gives the scene a dream‑like immediacy.
History & Provenance
Created in the final year of Friis’s life, the drawing was likely a preparatory study rather than a finished piece, as no subsequent painting is documented. Its provenance remains limited to the artist’s estate, and it stands as one of the last known works he produced before his death in 1895.
Artist & collection
A Bather
Baigneuse aux oies (Bathers with Geese)
Two Women Bathing (Les deux baigneuses)
Bathing at Talloires (La baignade à Talloires)
Nude with Cherub Holding a Mirror
Sappho (Sapho)
After the Bath (La sortie du bain (Grand planche))
Hight Tide, Montauk
Three Figures Seated in a Meadow, Seen from the Back
Music and Poetry
The Meeting in the Woods (La Rencontre du bosquet)
Woman Floating in a River Attended by Two Female Spirits