Reclining Woman 

Charles Demuth made this graphite drawing, Reclining Woman, in the United States. Demuth’s sketch offers a glimpse into the social complexities of the early 20th century and it exists in relation to the history of artistic institutions. This image encourages us to consider the dynamics of the art world. Was this sketch made for a specific audience, such as an art class? Or was it a private study? The reclining nude, a subject historically associated with male artists and female models, here invites speculation about Demuth's own identity as a gay man, a reality that would have been largely censored in the American art world. The drawing prompts questions about the politics of representation and how sexuality was negotiated and expressed within art. To better understand the circumstances around this drawing, we would need to delve into archival resources. Such research will help us to interpret it with a fuller sense of its place in social and institutional history.