1801
charcoal
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Charles L. Freer (?) is a 1801 charcoal by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a seated person with their hands resting on their lap. The hair is drawn in quick, tight lines, almost like a fuzzy outline. The paper has a greenish tint, and the charcoal is layered thickly in some spots, giving a rough, textured look. The artist used short, repeated strokes to build up the face and hair, almost like tiny dots pressed together. This gives the drawing a grainy, sketchy feel—less polished than a finished painting. Try looking up cross-hatching to see how artists create shading with lines.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.
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