Composition

Judging by the admittedly not very clear image in the Illustrated London News in 1901, the portrait was changed slightly after its first exhibition. 1 The girl's fringe was made a little thicker and more even, her face was narrowed, the chin being more pointed, and her collar was darkened.

Technique

It is thinly and evenly painted, with bolder brushstrokes on the hair. The face has been rubbed down and thinly reworked by the artist, leaving some areas almost bare. The canvas is showing, for instance, around her eyes, particularly at right. What may be her hand at lower right has been rubbed-down and blurred.

Conservation History

According to Freer Gallery of Art curatorial files it was lightly cleaned in 1921, relined in 1922, surfaced in 1933, cleaned and surfaced in 1935 and 1951. In 1965 it was cleaned by Ben Johnson and the discoloured varnish was probably removed before it was re-stretched onto a new stretcher, revarnished, and received some minimal inpainting and a final coat of varnish.

Frame

Grau-style, American, frame dating from 1903. 2