An Ideal Head

Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (1829-1904)

c. 1880

Black, white and red chalks

22.75 x 14.5 inches (57.7 x 36.8 cm)

Provenance: The artist, and thence by descent

Private collection on loan to the Maas Gallery [Click on the image to enlarge it]

This idealized study shows the young woman facing to the right, with her head half turned to look at the spectator. Her dark hair is done up in a bun and held in place with a white fillet. She wears a simple white dress giving her a rather classical appearance. Her right arm is bent at the elbow, her right hand is flexed at the wrist, and she appears to be picking up a pink flower. Betty Elzea felt this study was not done from life (351). The model is unknown. — Dennis T. Lanigan