Untitled (Older Woman, Frontal)
Artist
John Douglas Patrick
(American, 1863 - 1937)
Dateundated
MediumOiled charcoal and white chalk on laid paper
DimensionsUnframed: 24 5/8 x 18 5/16 inches (62.56 x 46.51 cm)
Framed: 32 x 25 3/4 x 1 3/4 inches (81.28 x 65.41 x 4.45 cm)
Framed: 32 x 25 3/4 x 1 3/4 inches (81.28 x 65.41 x 4.45 cm)
Credit LineGift of the families of Grayce Patrick Wray and Hazel Patrick Rickenbacher, daughters of the artist, from the collection of Cherie Wray Smith and Pattie Rickenbacher Hogan in honor of the 75th anniversary of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Object number2009.47.1
SignedSigned in ink with initials, lower left, on jacket sleeve: "D. P."
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThis large charcoal drawing is a bust-length portrait of an elderly black woman. The woman's body is angled so that her proper right shoulder is closer to the picture plane than her proper left shoulder, causing her face to be viewed at three-quarters profile. Her gaze is upward, rather than straight ahead. Her hair is pulled back into low, loose bun and she wears a loose-fitting jacket over a dark shirt. Her garments are much more sketchily rendered than her face, which is quite detailed.Exhibition HistoryAmerican Art Deco: Designing for the People, 1918-1939, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, June 5 2021–September 5 2021; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; July 9 2022–January 8 2023, no cat.
John Douglas Patrick’s sensitively drawn portrait of an elderly African-American woman demonstrates the skills he acquired while studying at the Académie Julian in Paris between 1885 and 1888. It also expresses the tenets he later espoused as an instructor at the Kansas City Art School (now the Kansas City Art Institute), where he stressed the importance of drawing directly from the figure.
For this portrait, Patrick focused greater attention on the woman’s face than on her garments, which are more sketchily described. The sympathy with which he rendered this likeness suggests a connection with the sitter beyond the requisite familiarity between artist and model. The sitter may have been hired help on the Patrick family’s farm in rural Johnson County, Kansas.
For this portrait, Patrick focused greater attention on the woman’s face than on her garments, which are more sketchily described. The sympathy with which he rendered this likeness suggests a connection with the sitter beyond the requisite familiarity between artist and model. The sitter may have been hired help on the Patrick family’s farm in rural Johnson County, Kansas.
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John Douglas Patrick
undated
2009.47.4
