Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, born Manlius - Persian Woman - n.d. - T-Shirt

Two colored pencil figure studies sit side by side on a pale cream sheet: a woman on a pale horse at the left, and a seated woman on a patterned rug at the right.

Visual Elements & Composition

Pale cream fills most of the sheet, giving the figures room to breathe. Light graphite outlines define each form first, and colored pencil accents follow, so the costume details carry the color. The rider wears a rose-and-blue patterned robe and a red headdress topped with a plume, while small red dots decorate the horse's bridle. On the right, the seated woman's peach garment has striped sleeves and a pale blue skirt, and a jeweled band crowns her plumed headdress. Her patterned rug is edged in blue and red. The word Persian is written in pencil beneath the group.

Meaning & Symbolism

The paired studies show two forms of costume, one mounted and one seated, and the inscription ties both to Persia. The composition sets the rider's motion against the seated woman's stillness, while the horse and the rug offer two settings of status and movement. Rich textiles, jeweled ornament and rugs drew the attention of European travelers and painters in the nineteenth century, who often recorded dress as examples of a visual culture they found striking. This sheet was made by Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, an American painter born in Manlius, New York, who worked in the nineteenth century.

Carried on the Tee

The studies are drawn at a small scale, with fine line and delicate color, so a tee lets them be read up close as the figures move with the wearer. The rider and the seated woman face one another across the chest, placing motion and stillness in a single view. The word Persian sits below them, as it does on the original sheet.