Study for the hands in the Portrait of Edward D. Adams 1892

Alphonse Legros made this graphite study for the hands in his portrait of Edward D. Adams on a six by five inch sheet of paper. Hands are, of course, loaded with symbolic potential. They are a key site through which sitters in painted portraits can be defined by their occupation, class, or moral character. It's interesting to consider this drawing in light of broader trends in the artistic institutions of Legros' time. Born in France, Legros later taught at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. During his time there, he helped shift the school's focus away from design and towards life drawing, and he encouraged his students to engage with the Old Masters. Looking at this drawing, we might ask how the artist's institutional position shaped its aesthetic character. What can this drawing tell us about the changing place of academic art instruction at the turn of the century? We can use sources in the archive to better understand this.