Chelsea Regatta

Chelsea Regatta — Theodore Roussel. 1888–89.

Medium: Etching in black on cream laid paper. Dimensions: Image/plate: 8 × 12 cm (3 3/16 × 4 3/4 in.); Sheet, with signature tab: 8.6 × 12 cm (3 7/16 × 4 3/4 in.).

Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

For many of his earliest etchings Roussel used small copper plates and focused on Chelsea scenes, conveying a clear sense of place while often presenting affectionate portraits of the neighborhood’s youngest residents. Roussel employed a shorthand drawing style, almost caricature, to portray the figures, and yet the girl and two boys in Chelsea Regatta can be identified by their sizes and relative ages as the artist’s children, Jeanne, Raphael, and Paul.

Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.