Provenance: collection of the artist; thence by descent to the Loïs Mailou Jones Pierre-Noël Trust.
Exhibited: Loïs Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color, Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, November 14 - February 27, 2010. With the label on the frame back.
Illustrated: Benjamin, Tritobia Hayes Benjamin, The Life and Art of Loïs Mailou Jones, p. 42; Hanzal, Carla M., Loïs Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color, p. 103.
This beautiful study of a seated nude was made in Löis Mailou Jones's second year studying in Paris. Awarded a Howard University scholarship to study at the Académie Julian during 1937-38, she studied both landscape and portraiture. She met the Symbolist Émile Bernard, who encouraged and befriended the young artist. Her new academic training is evident in the tonal palette, controlled brushwork and simplified background in this painting. She returned to the United States, to teach at Howard University in the fall of 1938. This is the earliest nude oil painting by the artist to come to auction. Tritobia Hayes Benjamin, The Life and Art of Löis Mailou Jones, p. 29.
