Artwork
Reclining Female Nude Study for "Painting"
Reclining Female Nude Study for "Painting" is a graphite drawing by the Impressionist artist Kenyon Cox. It dates from 1888 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:in artist's hand, lower right: "Painting" / nude / Light& learning-; by unknown hand, lower center: 16 x 22
About this work
Overview
Kenyon Cox’s 1888 drawing, titled Reclining Female Nude Study for “Painting,” presents a figure study rendered in graphite on laid paper. The work serves as a preparatory sketch for a larger painted composition, illustrating the artist’s process of working out pose and anatomy before committing to color.
Technique & Style
Executed with graphite, the drawing employs a squared framework to establish proportion and spatial relationships. Cox’s handling of line emphasizes the contours of the reclining figure, while the laid paper surface adds a subtle texture that interacts with the graphite’s tonal range, highlighting the study’s emphasis on form over surface detail.
History & Provenance
Created in 1888, the study reflects Cox’s academic training and his engagement with classical nude traditions prevalent in late‑19th‑century American art. The drawing has remained within the artist’s estate archives, documented in catalogues of his preparatory works, and is referenced in scholarly discussions of his larger painted oeuvre.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Kenyon Cox was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He was the designer of the League's logo,…
