Walt Kuhn, born Brooklyn, NY 1877-died - 10 PM (Portrait of La Salle Spier) - n.d. - T-Shirt

A half-length portrait in loose dark line shows a man with closed eyes and a bowed head, one hand pressed to his upper chest, caught in a single quiet moment.

Visual Elements & Composition

The drawing is built from economical line on a tan sheet. The head tilts down and to the side, the mouth turns downward, and the hair sweeps above and behind the head in curved, layered strokes. The hand at the chest is the only area with real shading, rendered in short hatched marks, and the shoulders slope outward below the neck. Strips of tape run across the upper edge of the sheet, and the handwritten inscription 10 PM, underlined, sits to the upper right of the head.

Meaning & Symbolism

The inscription anchors the image to a time of day. The catalogue identifies the sitter as La Salle Spier and titles the drawing 10 PM, pointing to late-evening fatigue or introspection rather than a formal sitting. The bowed head and hand at the chest carry that weariness, and the restraint of the line leaves the emotion to the viewer.

Walt Kuhn, born in Brooklyn in 1877, was an American painter and one of the organizers of the 1913 Armory Show, which introduced modern European art to American audiences. His figure work is known for its direct, slightly melancholy character, and this drawing shows that concern for expression through simplified form. The original is held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection.

Where the Drawing Meets the Shirt

A half-length figure suits the chest of a tee. The bowed head sits near the centre of the front, and the hand pressed to the chest lands where a wearer's own hand might rest, so the quiet posture becomes part of how the shirt is worn. Because the line is sparse, the figure reads clearly at a glance, and the tan ground of the original becomes the backdrop it is drawn against.