Richard E. Miller worked with the Giverny Group, a circle of American Impressionist painters who lived in the French countryside near the village of Giverny from 1898 to 1914. Part of their attraction to the area was the presence of Claude Monet, one of the founders of French Impressionism. The American artists favored images of women in vibrant, sun-filled landscapes, surrounded by flowers and foliage. An emphasis on pattern and bold contrasts exemplifies their decorative approach.
Miller's Giverny paintings often feature women in gardens or in rooms that open to a garden. A strong sense of design and vibrant palette were hallmarks of his style. Miller also was strongly influenced by the Japanese aesthetic-popular in France in the late 1800s and early 1900s-and his studio was filled with kimonos, parasols, fans, and ceramics with Asian motifs. Afternoon Tea, with its figures framed within a vividly patterned Japanese parasol, exemplifies the artist's Impressionist technique.
Louis Ritman and Frederick Carl Frieseke were other Giverny Group artists whose works are in the IMA's collection. World War I drove many of the artists away from Giverny; Miller returned to the United States in 1914.
Atmosphere and color are never permanent; paint won't remain the same color forever. But design will stay.
-Richard E. Miller, 1932
