TitleStudy of a Child's Head
Artist
George de Forest Brush
(American, 1855 - 1941)
Date1906
MediumOil on panel
DimensionsUnframed: 10 1/2 × 7 3/8 in.
Framed: 16 1/4 × 12 7/8 × 1 in.
SignedSigned lower left: "Geo. DeForest Brush / 1906"
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, May 3, 1909
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number172-P
Label TextThe child in this small panel study has been identified as the artist's daughter, Tribbie (1894-1917) (correspondence, Thea Brush Cabot). In 1906, Tribbie was no longer an infant, however it was common practice for Brush to depict his daughters as babies, even after they became adults, as, for example, in Idle Moments, 1924 (private collection) which shows the deceased Tribbie as a two-year-old. Brush's oldest daughter wrote of her father's favorite model, "Tribbie was a perfect subject for an artist. As a child her little body was beautifully formed, her skin was clear and white, her cheeks and lips highly colored, and her large violet-blue eyes most expressive" (Bowditch, 175). Typically, the artist has focused attention on a few locks of curly hair. A slight greenish undertone to the flesh reveals Brush's interest in early Italian Renaissance monochrome technique.Brush submitted this study to the Council in 1909, eight years after he was first elected an Academician. The 1901 election and a subsequent 1906 reelection both lapsed when he failed to present a diploma contribution. He once stated his objection to compelling artists to give works away (AAA NAA-1:212), and that view, coupled with his long absences abroad, were obstacles to his fulfilling the Academy's requirement. As an Associate, he risked expulsion at least three times for not exhibiting in the Annuals. On these grounds, he resigned in October 1894, although his resignation was not accepted.
