Two Studies of a Seated Man
1751 to 1775
Medium
graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 26.9 x 20.7 cm (10 9/16 x 8 1/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of William B. O'Neal
Accession Number
1995.52.191
Art Historical Context
James Ward’s “Two Studies of a Seated Man” captures the quiet concentration of figure drawing in mid-to-late eighteenth-century Britain. Rendered in graphite on smooth wove paper, the sheet records two views of the same model, allowing the artist to explore posture, drapery, and light from slightly different angles. At roughly 27 by 21 centimeters, the work’s intimate scale invites close looking, revealing the soft gradations Ward achieved with simple pencil strokes. Ward, best known today for his dramatic animal paintings and Romantic landscapes, used such studies to sharpen his observation ...
About the Artist
James Ward
James Ward was a prolific engraver, known as the most important animal painter of his generation in England. His work is characterized by subjects that are very animated, typically including horses, dogs or wild animals in agitated emotional states, the sense of movement being reinforced by vigorous brushwork and strong colors. His compositions are set in sweeping landscapes and dramatic skies, in...