Pretty Woman Holding Kitten 1909

Harrison Fisher's "Pretty Woman Holding Kitten" is a drawing of a woman, a kitten, and a rose, all rendered with pastel-like hues and subtle shading. The artwork has an unfinished quality, which I really like, a sense of something being caught in the process of becoming. The marks are fairly delicate, and the artist seems to be working with a limited palette, mostly pinks and browns with hints of blue. There’s a soft-focus effect throughout, which really emphasizes the femininity and tenderness of the image. It reminds me of the way that Berthe Morisot would render figures in her paintings. But it's the kitten that really makes the piece. Its fur is suggested with just a few strokes of the pencil, but there's so much energy and life in its pose. It’s not fixed, it’s caught between one moment and the next. It feels like looking at something in real time. That's what makes it so compelling.