Idalia Grace

14x16" Oil on Stretched Linen

Commissioned Work - Not For Sale

After John Singer Sargent.  (I hope Sargent is still peaceful after that statement, not rolling over in his resting place.)  On a recent trip to the Dallas Museum of Art, I saw Sargent's "Dorothy", which he painted in 1900.  I borrowed the red background, altered the dress, and modernized the headwear. Dorothy's hat would be way over the top for a little girl today!  

In several of the photographs I studied for this painting, I observed that Idalia Grace was usually holding some sort of object in both hands, so this seemed to be a natural pose for her.  Her maternal grandmother, Raydell, brainstormed with the family to determine what object would be recognized and considered dear to the child.  It seems that baby Idalia Grace (called Edee by Grandmother Raydell) was very attached to the the cloths known in Switzerland as "nuscheli".

Idalia Grace was named after her paternal grandmother, Idalia, who spends time visiting her daughter in Switzerland.   "Nuscheli" is a Swiss term for what were originally made to be cloth diapers.  Now they are very colorful and embellished with appliqués of animals, flowers and whatnot, worn as bandanas and headpieces, or made into puppets.  Most often, nuscheli are clutched in the tiny hands of babes who are comforted by the softness of the cloth as they are falling asleep.

I will post "Idalia Grace" on Daily Paintworks as my response to "The Picasso It Challenge".  The challenge is to paint in the style of a painter you admire.  It was indeed a pleasure to study not only this sweet face, but also to delve into the paintings of a master portrait artist via books, the internet, and art museums.  So much beauty to behold...