Beauty Reading a Letter

About the Artwork

A woman sits reading a letter. She has taken her right arm out of her sleeve and presses her hand against her pulse as if to still her excitement at the contents of the missive. Another woman’s silhouette is visible behind her through sliding paper doors. She spies on the first woman by peering through a tear in the paper.

Inscriptions

東燕斎寛志筆; The exterior of the box lid has the title and painter given in black ink as, “Painting of a Beauty, [from the] brush of Kanshi (美人画寛志筆).” A tag in the box written in pencil has the following text, “東燕斎寛志 Tōensai Kanshi Ukiyo-e painter. Known for a few fine painting of bijin-ga. (1764–80).”

Provenance

A. Kelvin Smith [1899–1984] and Eleanor [Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998], Cleveland, OH, by descent to their daughter Cara Smith Stirn Cara Smith Stirn [1927–2017], Cleveland, OH, by descent to her daughter Ellen Stirn Mavec Ellen Stirn Mavec [b. 1959]

Quick Overview

Artist: Tōensai Kanshi (Japanese, active c. 1751–72)
Date: c. 1751–72
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Painting: 86 x 16.4 cm (33 7/8 x 6 7/16 in.); Mounted: 159.4 x 20.3 cm (62 3/4 x 8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Japanese Art
Credit line: The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Ellen and Bruce Mavec
Accession no.: 2026.45

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.