6431

UNTRACED

Portrait drawing

Ailsa Mellon 1926

Head only, in three-quarter profile to the right

Graphite on paper, [dimensions unknown]

Sitters’ Book II, opp. f. 48: Ailsa Mellon March 3rd ‘ ‘ [among signatures dated 1926]

The present drawing is presumed to be a preparatory work for the finished portrait of the sitter [6430]. It differs from the finished work in that the sitter is depicted in profile to the right rather than full face to the viewer. The initial sitting took place in New York on 2 February 1926 with further sittings in Washington D.C. The drawing was stored at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. after Ailsa’s death in 1969 and returned to her family. Its subsequent whereabouts are unknown.

For biographical details of the sitter, see [6430].

KF 2011