Elizabeth Perley Kinnicutt 1909

Frank Benson captured Elizabeth Perley Kinnicutt in oil, and the painting has these wispy, washy strokes, like the memory of a dream. The colors are muted, almost like he's trying to paint the feeling of a person rather than just the face. I’m picturing Benson in his studio, squinting at his subject, mixing up these delicate creams and shadows. You know, painting a portrait is such an intimate act. What was she thinking? What was he trying to capture beyond just her likeness? There is so much detail in the dress, but it feels very light. The way the light catches the fabric reminds me of John Singer Sargent, another painter who knew how to make high society shimmer on canvas. Painters, we’re all in conversation with each other, stealing and borrowing and riffing off ideas across time. A painting is never really finished, you know? It’s just a moment captured, an ongoing question mark hanging in the air.