Laundry Room Paintings: Washerwomen, Linens and Light

A little humor and a lot of light: washerwomen, textiles and bright small pieces.

Laundry rooms are where a painting can be witty. The Impressionists and Realists painted laundresses, ironers and washing lines with real affection, and a small, bright print of one of them turns a chore room into a place with a joke in it. Keep it small, frame it behind acrylic for humidity, and favor light palettes that hold up under a single ceiling light.

Madame de Pastoret and Her Son, Jacques-Louis David 36 × 48 in portrait print (91 × 122 cm), centered 63¼ in from the floor, 8 in above the console table. Drawn to scale on a 12 × 8 ft wall.

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Showing 1 to 48 of 60 paintings

Large painting of young woman in white dress sitting next to crib.

Jacques-Louis David Madame de Pastoret and Her Son, 1791–92 Art Institute of Chicago

Jean Renoir Sewing, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1899–1900, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Jean Renoir Sewing, 1899–1900 Art Institute of Chicago

The Laundress, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1877–79, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir The Laundress, 1877–79 Art Institute of Chicago

Young Woman Knitting, Berthe Morisot, ca. 1883, oil on canvas

Berthe Morisot Young Woman Knitting, ca. 1883 The Met

Washerwoman, Study, Camille Pissarro, 1880, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro Washerwoman, Study, 1880 The Met

A Washerwoman at Eragny, Camille Pissarro, 1893, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro A Washerwoman at Eragny, 1893 The Met

Edgar Degas Woman Ironing, begun c. 1876, completed c. 1887 National Gallery of Art

We look down onto a landscape where several laundry lines have been draped mostly with white sheets or cloth to dry in a flat, grassy yard in front of a rustic house and a distant town in this horizontal painting.

Berthe Morisot Hanging the Laundry out to Dry, 1875 National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a tranquil river scene with a distant horizon on the left showing rolling landscapes, trees, and small brown buildings across calm water.

Charles-François Daubigny Washerwomen at the Oise River near Valmondois, 1865 National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts a sandy beach under a vast, light blue sky. The horizon is in the center of the painting where the blue sky blends into the blue water.

Eugène Boudin Women on the Beach at Berck, 1881 National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a coastal scene with a rocky tan cliff on the left side extending down to the blue sea. The horizon is in the middle of the painting, with a bright, slightly cloudy blue sky above the sea.

Eugène Boudin Washerwomen on the Beach of Etretat, 1894 National Gallery of Art

The painting features a sandy shore and a calm sea with sailing boats in the distance. At the bottom of the painting, people sit on the sand by the water.

Eugène Boudin Washerwoman near Trouville, c. 1872/1876 National Gallery of Art

Landscape with Fisherman and Washerwoman, John Rathbone, 1790–1800, oil on panel

John Rathbone Landscape with Fisherman and Washerwoman, 1790–1800 Art Institute of Chicago

Cottage by the River with Washerwomen, Camille Flers, 1835, oil on fabric

Camille Flers Cottage by the River with Washerwomen, 1835 Cleveland Museum of Art

Firemen's Washing Day, William P. Chappel, 1870s, oil on slate paper

William P. Chappel Firemen's Washing Day, 1870s The Met

Joseph Rodefer DeCamp The Seamstress, 1916 National Gallery of Art

A Woman Ironing, Edgar Degas, 1873, oil on canvas

Edgar Degas A Woman Ironing, 1873 The Met

Woman Mending, Camille Pissarro, 1895, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro Woman Mending, 1895 Art Institute of Chicago

Woman Ironing, Édouard Vuillard, 1892, oil on board

Édouard Vuillard Woman Ironing, 1892 Cleveland Museum of Art

This painting shows a woman seated on a wooden chair, facing the right with her head slightly tilted down. She is focused on the thin silver needles she holds in her hands.

Edmund Charles Tarbell Josephine Knitting, 1916 National Gallery of Art

For the Little One, William Merritt Chase, ca. 1896, oil on canvas

William Merritt Chase For the Little One, ca. 1896 The Met

This painting shows two women seated on yellow-gold chairs in a room. The woman on the left appears young, with short brown hair and light skin.

Édouard Vuillard Women Sewing, c. 1912 National Gallery of Art

The Laundress, Honoré Daumier, 186[3?], oil on oak

Honoré Daumier The Laundress, 186[3?] The Met

Auvers (Washerwomen), Charles-François Daubigny, 1861, oil on wood

Charles-François Daubigny Auvers (Washerwomen), 1861 National Gallery of Art

Shown from the waist up, a woman with pale skin and brown hair, wearing a dark corset and white fabric over her shoulders, looks down at needlework in her hands in this vertical painting.

Diego Velázquez The Needlewoman, c. 1640/1650 National Gallery of Art

Mrs. Mary Arthur, Thomas Eakins, 1900, oil on canvas

Thomas Eakins Mrs. Mary Arthur, 1900 The Met

A woman and child stand in an enclosed courtyard in this vertical painting.

Pieter de Hooch Woman and Child in a Courtyard, 1658/1660 National Gallery of Art

Shepherdess Seated on a Rock, Jean-François Millet, 1856, oil on wood

Jean-François Millet Shepherdess Seated on a Rock, 1856 The Met

Midas Washing at the Source of the Pactolus, Nicolas Poussin, ca. 1627, oil on canvas

Nicolas Poussin Midas Washing at the Source of the Pactolus, ca. 1627 The Met

Antiochus and Stratonice, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, c. 1838, oil on linen

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Antiochus and Stratonice, c. 1838 Cleveland Museum of Art

A Peasant Girl Knitting, Jules Breton, ca. 1870, oil on canvas

Jules Breton A Peasant Girl Knitting, ca. 1870 The Met

Holding a bunch of peonies in one hand, a woman with brown skin leans forward, toward us from behind a large basket holding dozens of flowers in this horizontal painting.

Frédéric Bazille Young Woman with Peonies, 1870 National Gallery of Art

The Hatch Family, Eastman Johnson, 1870–71, oil on canvas

Eastman Johnson The Hatch Family, 1870–71 The Met

The Proposal, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1872, oil on canvas

William-Adolphe Bouguereau The Proposal, 1872 The Met

Young Peasant Having Her Coffee, Camille Pissarro, 1881, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro Young Peasant Having Her Coffee, 1881 Art Institute of Chicago

A young woman with pale, peach skin wearing a white apron over an ankle-length navy-blue dress stands in a dining room in this vertical painting. The painting is created using loose brushstrokes throughout.

Berthe Morisot In the Dining Room, 1886 National Gallery of Art

Woman on Rose Divan, Henri Matisse, 1921, oil on canvas

Henri Matisse Woman on Rose Divan, 1921 Art Institute of Chicago

Market Place, John Singer Sargent, 1890s, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Market Place, 1890s The Met

The Harvest, Pontoise (La Récolte, Pontoise), Camille Pissarro, 1881, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro The Harvest, Pontoise (La Récolte, Pontoise), 1881 The Met

This painting shows a view from above, looking down a path on the left where several people walk away from us towards a house in the distance surrounded by lush green vegetation.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir The Mussel Harvest, 1879 National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a person bent over, working the land outdoors. The person is in the center of the painting, surrounded by green grass and dark trees. The sky is not visible. In the bottom left corner, there is a section of brown earth.

Georges Seurat Man with a Hoe, c. 1882 National Gallery of Art

Shown from the lap up a pale-skinned young girl sits in a grassy landscape in this vertical painting. The girl and surroundings are painted with visible strokes and dashes of mostly vivid greens and blues, which give the scene a soft look.

Camille Pissarro Peasant Girl with a Straw Hat, 1881 National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a person in an agricultural setting. The background is made of horizontal bands of browns and greens, painted in short, overlapping strokes.

Georges Seurat Peasant with a Hoe, c. 1882 National Gallery of Art

An older man with ruddy, peachy skin stands in the lower right of this vertical painting holding a large, green, leafy cabbage. He is shown from the hips up and faces our left with his body angled slightly toward us.

Camille Pissarro The Gardener - Old Peasant with Cabbage, 1883-1895 National Gallery of Art

A Fisherman, Eastman Johnson, 1865, brown inks on tan-color sized canvas

Eastman Johnson A Fisherman, 1865 The Met

This painting features a woman standing, with her body slightly turned to the right and her head facing downward. She has light skin, pink cheeks, and dark hair partially covered by a red-and-white patterned head scarf.

Camille Pissarro Peasant Woman, 1880 National Gallery of Art

Harvest Time, George Inness, 1864, oil on canvas

George Inness Harvest Time, 1864 Cleveland Museum of Art

This painting shows a group of people engaged in various activities within a wide green landscape. In the background are distant white-and-blue mountains and a blue sky with soft gray clouds.

Francesco Guardi Erminia and the Shepherds, 1750/1755 National Gallery of Art

Collections for the laundry room

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Dining Room 43 shared
Kitchen 36 shared
Staircase 10 shared
Bedroom 8 shared

Collections for the laundry room

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Rooms that share paintings