White Christmas 

Mark Beck painted this artwork titled ‘White Christmas’ sometime in the 20th century. Note how Beck uses light and shadow to sculpt the figure, contrasting the dark skin tones with the soft pink of the shirt and the vibrant red headscarf. The woman is captured in a contemplative pose, her hands clasped gently, which suggests a moment of introspection. The composition is carefully balanced. There's a tension between the figure and the background which seems to be a horizon between the sky and the sea. The brushstrokes are visible yet refined, creating a texture that enlivens the surface and reflects a contemporary approach to portraiture. Beck’s attention to the interplay of color and light serves to destabilize our expectations of traditional portraiture and engages with broader questions of identity, representation, and the gaze within contemporary painting.