Woman Resting on Stone Bench
Medium
Black pastel, with touches of white pastel, on blue laid paper
Dimensions
40 × 25 cm (15 3/4 × 9 7/8 in.)
Classification
pastel
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
46925
Art Historical Context
### Woman Resting on Stone Bench Nestled in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings collection, *Woman Resting on Stone Bench* by Henry Marks (1829–1898) offers a quiet glimpse into Victorian-era figural intimacy. Marks, a Royal Academician celebrated for his humorous "parrot pictures"—whimsical scenes of birds mimicking human antics—demonstrates his versatility here in a tender, undated study. Rendered in black pastel with subtle white highlights on blue laid paper (40 × 25 cm), the work captures a woman in repose, her form emerging softly from the textured support. Pastel was a favo...
About the Artist
Henry Stacy Marks · 1829–1898
Henry Stacy Marks (1829–1898) was born on 13 September 1829 in London, the fourth child of coachbuilder John Isaac Marks and Elizabeth Pally. Initially apprenticed in his father's trade and briefly working as a clerk, Marks displayed early artistic talent, learning to paint heraldry for carriages. He began formal training around 1847 at James Mathews Leigh's art school in Newman Street, where he b...