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The Leger Galleries Ltd.

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George Romney, An Elegant Lady in Classical Dress [recto], 1780s, pen and brown ink on laid paper, Gift of William B. O'Neal, 1995.52.150.a

An Elegant Lady in Classical Dress [recto]

George Romney · 1780s · pen and brown ink on laid paper ·  Accession ID  1995.52.150.a

One woman sits and bends forward, bracing her elbows on her wide-spread knees as a second woman combs her long hair in this vertical black chalk drawing on pale blue paper. Both have straight, strong noses, wide-set eyes, full, rounded lips, and pointed chins in thin faces. The seated woman’s knees are turned to our left, but she turns her head to look over our left shoulder with her lips parted. Her right arm extends almost straight so her hand lies limp beyond her right knee, and she holds an oval hand mirror tucked against her voluminous skirts in her other hand. The bodice and sleeves of her dress have been taken off, and they hang loosely around her waist. Her chemise has short, loose sleeves, and one bare foot peeks out from under her long skirt. A low table next to her shins, to our left, holds toiletries and bottles, and a bed set up on a platform separates her from the back wall of the room. She sits on the edge of the bed near the footboard. The second woman stands on the floor behind the bed and platform, reaching over the footboard to hold up the first woman’s hair with both hands. The second woman’s dress has long, puffy sleeves and a low, square-cut neckline. Her hair is pulled back under a twisted head band. She leans to one side, coming toward us, to look down at the seated woman from over one shoulder. A tree branch whips around the edge of a swirling curtain in the background to the left. To the right are a round shield and short sword, a lit candle in a tall candlestick, and a crucifix. An in scription in chalk in the top left corner of the drawing reads, “Desdemona’s Death-Song.” Along the bottom edge, more writing reads, “46 6/8 x 29 6/8 hanging sleeve more to side clear of dress.”
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Desdemona's Death-Song, 1878/1880, black chalk over traces of red chalk on two joined sheets of blue-green paper, New Century Fund and Paul Mellon Fund, 2005.76.1

Desdemona's Death-Song

Dante Gabriel Rossetti · 1878/1880 · black chalk over traces of red chalk on two joined sheets of blue-green paper ·  Accession ID  2005.76.1

Thomas Rowlandson, Nancy Cock - Clear Starcher, c. 1815, pen and gray ink with watercolor over graphite on wove paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1988.66.1

Nancy Cock - Clear Starcher

Thomas Rowlandson · c. 1815 · pen and gray ink with watercolor over graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1988.66.1

John Hamilton Mortimer, Three Oriental Heads, 1770/1775, pen and black ink on laid paper; laid down, Gift of The Leger Galleries Ltd., 1992.29.1

Three Oriental Heads

John Hamilton Mortimer · 1770/1775 · pen and black ink on laid paper; laid down ·  Accession ID  1992.29.1

John Hamilton Mortimer, Three Oriental Heads, 1770/1775, pen and black ink on laid paper; laid down, Gift of The Leger Galleries Ltd., 1992.29.2

Three Oriental Heads

John Hamilton Mortimer · 1770/1775 · pen and black ink on laid paper; laid down ·  Accession ID  1992.29.2

John Hoppner, Miss Frances Beresford, c. 1784/1785, black, red, and white chalks over graphite on pink washed paper, Gift of The Leger Galleries, London, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1990.109.1

Miss Frances Beresford

John Hoppner · c. 1784/1785 · black, red, and white chalks over graphite on pink washed paper ·  Accession ID  1990.109.1

John Hamilton Mortimer, Three Oriental Heads, 1770/1775, pen and black ink on laid paper; laid down, Gift of The Leger Galleries Ltd., 1992.29.3

Three Oriental Heads

John Hamilton Mortimer · 1770/1775 · pen and black ink on laid paper; laid down ·  Accession ID  1992.29.3

William Collins, A Heath in Sussex, 1810/1815, watercolor over graphite with scratching out on wove paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 2000.71.1

A Heath in Sussex

William Collins · 1810/1815 · watercolor over graphite with scratching out on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2000.71.1

John Hamilton Mortimer, Two Oriental Heads, 1770/1775, pen and black ink on laid paper; laid down, Gift of The Leger Galleries Ltd., 1992.29.4

Two Oriental Heads

John Hamilton Mortimer · 1770/1775 · pen and black ink on laid paper; laid down ·  Accession ID  1992.29.4

John Carter, The Erpingham Gate, Norwich, 1791, pen and black ink, gray wash, and watercolor on laid paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1992.48.1

The Erpingham Gate, Norwich

John Carter · 1791 · pen and black ink, gray wash, and watercolor on laid paper ·  Accession ID  1992.48.1