Departing for the Promenade (Will You Go Out with Me, Fido?)  1859

Stevens was appreciated in his day for his elegant evocations of opulent environments, fashionable dress, and refined manners, often represented by a single figure, as here, going about the rituals of genteel daily life. The title, however, with its suggestion of an amusing anecdote, was probably given to the painting only when it came to the United States in the late nine...