Woman Drying Her Hair 1899

Joseph DeCamp created Woman Drying Her Hair with oil on canvas, using traditional fine art materials. DeCamp applies fluid brushstrokes to capture the light shimmering across the woman’s skin and hair. The softness of the scene comes from his blending technique and delicate palette, showcasing his masterful rendering of the human form. This approach draws on artistic traditions handed down through generations of studio practice. The smooth surface and lack of visible brushstrokes are a result of careful layering and blending, intended to create an illusion of reality. The labor involved is less about physical toil and more about the learned skill required to manipulate paint into a believable image. Yet this focus on the sensual experience of the painting almost obscures the labor involved in the image itself: the mundane, repetitive action of drying one’s hair. Looking at the work through the lens of its materials, making, and context invites us to see beyond the surface, and think more deeply about its meaning.