Technique

Little Lizzie Willis, The Hunterian

It is painted on a plain open weave tabby canvas primed in grey over a white under-layer. A few crayon or graphite lines are visible across her neck and chest, suggesting the figure was drawn lightly before being painted. The background was painted broadly, and some suggestions of dress were sketched in roughly with an almost dry brush. The mouth and the adjacent area were lightly rubbed down and reworked, but the rest of the face was more fluidly painted and carefully modelled; flickering brushstrokes define the eyes and eyebrows. The face is lit from upper left, and a comparatively broad brushstroke around the face makes it stand out from surrounding areas. Paint has been partly scraped off the bottom of the canvas, which is clearly unfinished.

Conservation History

The canvas is unlined. It was 'cleaned and varnished' by John Bull for Agnew's in 1980 and surveyed by Clare Meredith in 1980, who found it in sound condition. She noted, interestingly, that some 5-8 cm hairs were embedded in the paint layer below the sitter's chin and at lower right, coming either from the artist's head or a broad decorator's brush. 1

Frame

Little Lizzie Willis, The Hunterian

Little Lizzie Willis, frame detail

A Whistlerian Flat frame, dating from the 1920s. 2 Size: 58.2 x 38.0 x 3.6 cm.