Violet Girl
1857
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1857
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Violet Girl is a 1857 ink by William Morris Hunt, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-tan drawing shows a girl sitting on a wooden chair, her hands folded in her lap. She’s wearing a dark dress with a hood pulled over her head, and her face looks serious. The background is plain, with just a hint of a wall and a window behind her. The artist used a scratchy, textured style that makes the image feel almost sketchy. It’s not a smooth painting—it’s more like a drawing pressed onto paper. If you like this style, look up lithography to see how it works.
