Frank Burty Haviland
Medium
graphite on paper, laid down
Dimensions
sheet: 36.2 × 27.62 cm (14 1/4 × 10 7/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of William Kelly Simpson
Accession Number
2018.65.1
Art Historical Context
Amedeo Modigliani created this 1915 portrait drawing of Frank Burty Haviland using graphite on paper, a medium that allowed for fluid, expressive lines and subtle tonal shading. At just over 14 by 11 inches, the work rewards close inspection, revealing the intimate character of drawings from this era. Modigliani, active in the vibrant artistic circles of early twentieth-century Paris, frequently turned to such works on paper to explore the human figure with economy and grace. The drawing exemplifies the modernist impulse toward simplification and emotional resonance rather than photographic d...
About the Artist
Amedeo Modigliani · 1884–1920
Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor whose elegant, elongated figures and portraits rank among the most instantly recognizable images in modern art. Born in Livorno, Tuscany, to a Sephardic Jewish family, he studied at the academies of Florence and Venice before moving permanently to Paris in 1906, where he immersed himself in the bohemian artistic milieu of Montmartre...