1891
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Sweet Peas is a 1891 ink by James David Smillie, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This drawing shows a cluster of sweet peas in black and white. The flowers are detailed with soft lines, some buds still closed while others bloom open. Leaves twist around the stems, and the whole plant fills the frame. The artist used a drypoint technique, which means they scratched lines into a metal plate to create the image. This method makes the lines look slightly fuzzy and textured. Look up drypoint to see how this technique works.
James David Smillie was an American artist, cofounder of the American Watercolor Society and New York Etching Club. His brother was painter George Henry Smillie.
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