Alfred Pope: An Evolution of Ingenuity

Édouard Manet (1832–1883)

10. Absinthe Drinker


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Absinthe Drinker, c. 1875–80

Abstinthe Drinker

Ink wash on paper, 8.3 x 6.3 in. (21 x 16 cm). Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, Connecticut.

Although Hill-Stead’s archives do not include documentation of the exact dates for when Alfred acquired Manet’s Absinthe Drinker, we know that it was in the collection by 1909, based on a household inventory. We also know that he acquired this drawing, like many of the other works in his collection, from the French art dealer Durand-Ruel.

Absinthe Drinker is one of three artworks by Manet that Alfred acquired during his collecting years, but it is the only drawing by the artist he acquired. The two oil paintings Alfred acquired entitled Toreadors, 1862-63, and The Guitar Player, 1866 remain in the collection and are on view in the museum’s Drawing Room.