drapery study for costumed male torso
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Accession Number
1955-38-38-b
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Elihu Vedder’s “Drapery Study for Costumed Male Torso,” created around 1890, offers a fascinating glimpse into the working methods of one of America’s most imaginative late-nineteenth-century artists. Born in 1836 and active until his death in 1923, Vedder often blended classical influences with symbolic and decorative elements in his paintings, murals, and illustrations. This drawing captures a moment of careful preparation, where the artist focused on the fall and texture of fabric across a male figure’s torso, suggesting it served as a preparatory study for a larger, costumed composition. ...