I Dreamt I Saw Thee Robed in Purple Flakes
1885
Medium
Gray and white gouache, with touches of black gouache, on cream wood-pulp laminate board
Dimensions
21 × 45.4 cm (8 5/16 × 17 7/8 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
39834
Art Historical Context
Created in 1885 by artist Will Hicock Low, *I Dreamt I Saw Thee Robed in Purple Flakes* is an evocative drawing whose poetic title hints at themes of vision, memory, and ethereal beauty. The work belongs to the rich tradition of late-nineteenth-century drawings that blend literary inspiration with visual fantasy, inviting viewers to imagine a figure emerging from delicate, atmospheric tones. Low achieved these effects using gray and white gouache with touches of black on cream wood-pulp laminate board. This opaque watercolor medium allowed him to build subtle gradations of light and shadow, p...
About the Artist
Will Hicock Low · 1853–1932
Will Hicock Low (1853–1932) was an American painter and illustrator whose career bridged the Gilded Age and the early twentieth century, and who played an important role in bringing French academic ideals to American art. Born in Albany, New York, Low received his most formative training in Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and in the atelier of Carolus-Duran, the celebrated Fren...