Girl Arranging Her Hair
Abbott Handerson Thayer
1918-1919
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly
Accession Number
1929.6.117
Tags
waist lengthgrooming
About this artwork
Alma Wollerman Thayer was the wife of Abbott Thayer's son, Gerald, and mother of Thayer's grandchildren. She was one of his favorite models, and he spoke of his obsession with her sensual features. He created multiple versions of this composition, but claimed that he had never painted anything to compare with this Botticelli-like Alma head (Prelinger, American Impressionism: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2000).