Young Girl with Muff 

Jessie Willcox Smith made this drawing, titled "Young Girl with Muff," using charcoal or graphite on paper. It's easy to overlook drawing as a 'lowly' medium, compared to painting or sculpture. But this preparatory sketch would have been crucial to Smith’s illustrative work, which gained considerable popularity through magazines and books. Notice the material qualities here - the granular texture achieved with dry media, the artist's precise control of tone. Smith has built up the form of the girl with tight, controlled strokes, modulating pressure to suggest the fall of light across her form. The clothing and the backdrop seem to float into focus with a high level of clarity that dissolves into the background. The social context is important. Smith was one of the leading illustrators of her day, and she made a good living. The drawing embodies skilled labor, aesthetic awareness, and a keen sense of visual communication. This all goes to show that 'commercial' art can be just as compelling, and meaningful, as the kind you see hanging in museums.