George Grey Barnard, born Bellefonte, - (Untitled-Head) - ca. 1915-1925 - T-Shirt

A charcoal and coloured chalk head study shows a young man with lowered eyes and loosely curled hair, drawn on warm yellow paper.

Visual Elements & Composition

Ochre paper fills most of the sheet and sets the tone for the whole drawing. Charcoal carries the structure, built up in fine hatching across the brow, nose and mouth, while touches of rose chalk warm the cheeks, nose and lips. Heavy, looping strokes describe a mass of curling hair that frames the face and falls to the shoulders, and a cord or band crosses the hair at the left. The head sits in an oval within a rectangular sheet, with a faint handwritten notation at the upper left that is not legible.

Meaning & Symbolism

The downcast eyes and closed, reserved mouth give the head a quiet, contemplative character. The drawing concentrates on planes and rhythm rather than on any narrative setting, so the expression itself carries the subject. Its sculptural handling suggests Barnard was thinking in three dimensions, testing how a head would hold its volume before it was carved or modelled. George Grey Barnard, born in Bellefonte, was an American sculptor who drew extensively, and studies like this one show how he worked out expression and form ahead of stone or bronze. The sheet dates to roughly 1915 to 1925, a period when he continued to produce figurative commissions and portrait heads.

Built for the Curve of the Body

A head study belongs close to the body, so this drawing sits naturally on a tee, where the face is seen at chest level and the curls fall in the same direction as the shirt's shoulders. The rose and charcoal tones read clearly up close, and the calm expression holds its quiet presence whether you wear it at home or out for the day.