Woman Leaning Right (from Sketchbook) 1835 - 1839

"Woman Leaning Right," is a pencil drawing by Francis William Edmonds, likely from the early to mid-19th century. Edmonds, active in a rapidly evolving America, offers us a glimpse into the period's perception of women. This sketch, with its delicate lines, captures a woman in a moment of repose. The drawing offers us an intimate, yet incomplete portrait. The sketch aesthetic keeps the artwork from being about the individual woman depicted. Instead, it speaks to the broader social narratives surrounding femininity and representation in the 1800s. What does it mean to see a woman depicted this way, through the eyes of a male artist of the time? Edmonds, as a man of his era, inevitably brings his own perspective and societal conditioning to his work. The sketch captures a specific kind of feminine ideal which continues to resonate today.