r.: Seated figure; v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly date from about 1878.
r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art
v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly, Freer Gallery of Art
The drawings are fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 698).
r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art
v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly, Freer Gallery of Art
r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art
The figure was believed by C. L. Freer to be Maud Franklin (1857-1939). 1
According to Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913), a 'Sketch of a Lady, seated' was owned by H. E. Morgan in 1912. 2 It shows a model in a similar pose to the figure on the recto of r.: Seated figure; v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly m0698, with her left arm resting on the chairback. The lines look weak, and numerous pentimenti display confusion about the pose. The resulting shadows on the woman's face look like a two-days growth of beard. It is possible that it was an abandoned study for this drawing, but, with only the reproduction to go by, it was excluded from the 1995 catalogue. 3
The dragonflies, similar to sketches on Study of Rosettes for Lady's Dress m0434 and Chelsea Reach and the dragonfly m0708, may relate to a decorative scheme, possibly for William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916), or a design similar to Harmony in Yellow and Gold: The Butterfly Cabinet y195.
Details are given in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 698).
By the terms of Freer's will the drawing can not be lent to other venues.
1: Note describing it as 'Black, White & Red', annotated by C. L. Freer, 'seated figure of Maude', Freer Gallery of Art.
2: Way 1912 [more], repr. f.p. 96
3: MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 698).