Mirza Sarab
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney
Accession Number
1966.111.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection *Mirza Sarab* (1927 is a captivating bust-length drawing by Alice Pike Barney a trailblazing American artist and arts patron known for her vibrant portraits and theatrical designs. Created in charcoal or similar media typical of the era's preparatory sketches, work captures the subject— a figure of Persian nobility, given the title's evocation of "Mirza a traditional honorific—with a striking hat that adds an air of exotic elegance and cultural. Barney, active in Washington, D.C.'s cultural scene during the early 20th century, often depicted...