Alice Pike Barney, born Cincinnati, OH - The Locket - ca. 1904 - T-Shirt

A full-length pastel of a young woman with auburn hair, leaning against a blue upholstered settee in a flowing pale gown.

Visual Elements & Composition

Pale grey-white dominates the sheet, carried by the long, layered gown that spills across the floor toward the lower left. Against it, the slate-blue curve of the settee gives the composition its firmest shape. Charcoal and brownish-grey fill the background, with faint foliage at the upper left. The figure's arm rests along the sofa's back while her other hand lifts toward its top edge, and her gaze turns down and to the side. Nothing in the picture is lettered or numbered.

Meaning & Symbolism

The title names a small piece of jewellery, which the sitter's inward attention suggests rather than shows. The image becomes a moment of private thought, quiet and reflective. Alice Pike Barney (1857-1931) made this work around 1904, early in her career, when she was developing the loose, layered handling of pastel and the soft light and flowing dress that define her figure studies. Barney was known for her pastel portraits and for the Washington, D.C., studio she built as a salon for artists and writers. The work is held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection.

Worn on the Body

A full-length figure is a tall composition, and here the gown's folds run down the front of the shirt from the shoulders toward the hem, so the drift of pale fabric follows the wearer's own lines. The settee's curve sits to one side, leaving the central figure open and uncrowded. The dreamy, quiet mood of the pastel holds its place on the body the way it holds its place on the paper.