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George de Forest Brush

Head of an Infant, 1914

Description

Maker

  • George de Forest Brush, 1855-1941, American

Title

Head of an Infant

Year

1914

Medium

Red and white chalk on brown paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • chalk

Supports

  • Brown paper

Dimensions

36.2 x 28.4 cm (14 5/16 x 11 3/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed and dated, LR :Geo. DeForest-Brush, 1914

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Murray S. Danforth

Object Number

30.024

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Joseph Lindon Smith and His Circle in Dublin, New Hampshire

October 14, 1998 - March 3, 1999

George De Forest Brush studied at the National Academy of Design, New York, and later in Paris from under Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904) at the same time as Abbott Thayer. Like much art of the 19th century, his work shows a fascination with the Italian Renaissance. In Head of an Infant, Brush's academic training and technical skill are shown by the subtle tonality in the modeling of the head and cheek. His use of red and white chalk on a colored ground emulates the chiaroscuro technique developed by sixteenth­century Italian artists, which continued to be part of classical academic training into the 19th century. Brush was known for using his family as models to depict Renaissance subjects such as the Madonna and Child. The subject of this drawing is most likely the artist's granddaughter Joan, who was born in 1914.

Brush brought his family to Dublin for the first time in 1899 at the urging of his friend Abbott Thayer. In 1901, the Brushes bought a small farm there and in subsequent years divided their time between Dublin and Florence, Italy. George de Forest Brush was an active member of the Dublin community, lecturing about his many travels and reenacting some of the sacred dances and ceremonies that he had learned from the Crow in Montana.

Selection 1

December 30, 1971 - January 23, 1972

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Head of an Infant with the accession number of 30.024. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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