Mrs. Joseph Clark Grew [Alice Perry Grew] 1904

Lilla Cabot Perry made this portrait of Alice Perry Grew using oil on canvas. I imagine Perry, in her studio, mixing those delicate, ethereal colours, that lavender-tinged light. She’s trying to catch the soft glow of Alice’s skin, the way the light catches the lace at her shoulder. What's it like to slowly build up a likeness? It feels like Perry’s really looking, trying to understand the character of her sitter. There's a gentleness in the brushstrokes, a kind of reverence. That hand, resting so lightly at her waist - it’s a beautiful gesture. Look at the darks around the figure - they push forward the creamy tones. You can see Perry’s dialogue with artists like Monet in her wider practice, absorbing and then re-imagining Impressionist techniques for herself. Painting is like this, a conversation across time. We're all just figuring it out, you know? Each brushstroke is a question, a possibility, an attempt to capture something fleeting and true.