Allegorical Female Figure

Rendered with graphite, the drawing relies on delicate shading and line work to model the figure’s volume on smooth wove paper. La Farge’s handling of tone creates subtle transitions between light and shadow, emphasizing the figure’s contours while maintaining a restrained, almost meditative atmosphere typical of late‑19th‑century academic drawing.

Created circa 1884, the piece belongs to the period when La Farge was expanding his practice beyond stained‑glass and mural commissions into intimate works on paper. Its subsequent ownership record is limited, but the drawing has been retained within collections that focus on American artists of the Gilded Age, reflecting its relevance to La Farge’s broader oeuvre.