Vermeer’s Maid Left Dublin for New York

Three Vermeers reunite in a luminous new setting, exploring letters, women, and the quiet drama of domestic life.

Vermeer’s Maid Left Dublin for New York
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, ca. 1670-72, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; presented by Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, 1987 (Beit Collection), Image © National Gallery of Ireland

In the hushed intimacy of a Vermeer interior, nothing is as still as it seems.

A woman pauses mid-sentence. A maid stands at her shoulder. A letter, opened, unopened, perhaps never sent, rests between them, heavy with implication.