Study for a Woman

Robert Frederick Blum's figure study demonstrates the academic draftsmanship underlying American illustration at the turn of the century. Working in red chalk and wash on paper, Blum captures the profile pose and flowing drapery typical of figure studies prepared for larger compositions. As a founding member of the Society of American Artists and accomplished muralist, Blum's technical studies served theatrical and decorative commissions—in this case, likely for a Mendelssohn Glee Club production in New York. The economy of line and attention to anatomical proportion reflect the classical training that distinguished American illustrators of this era, whose refined drawing skills would soon be adapted to the emerging language of sequential comics and newspaper illustration.