Ida Reading a Letter is an 1899 oil-on-canvas painting by the Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi.

In 1887 Hammershoi travelled to the Netherlands, where he saw first-hand works by Dutch 17th-century master Johannes Vermeer and his Delft contemporaries.

This painting seems to have been directly inspired by a Vermeer he must have seen in Amsterdam, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter.

[1] The artist use of a similar hairstyle, pose, table and indirect light all recall this painting, and the reduction of household items to a minimum of objects is typical of the 17th-century Dutch interiors.

[2] This painting had been purchased from the artist himself by Edmund Henriques and remained in the hands of his descendants until appearing on the art market in 1984.