School of Design

This sketch by Jessie Curtis depicts a woman seated at a drafting table, engaged in the act of drawing or designing. The work documents the expanding educational opportunities for women in the nineteenth century, particularly in artistic training. Curtis's fluid pen technique captures both the figure's concentration and the materials of her craft—the angled work surface and tool in hand. The notation "School of Design" references the growing network of design schools that emerged across America and Europe, institutions that formalized artistic instruction beyond traditional apprenticeship and opened professional pathways for women artists during this period.