The Dreamer
Datec. 1942
MediumWatercolor on linen attached to board
Dimensions24 1/2 x 28 1/2 in. (62.2 x 72.4 cm)
frame: 31 5/8 x 35 5/8 in. (80.3 x 90.5 cm)
Credit LineBequest of John L. Sexton, 1955
Object number1955-14
Label TextAfter achieving early success in a very different style, Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones returned to the art world in the 1930s. By 1942 she was exhibiting paintings that combined "forceful drawing and compact flesh tones" with "a vague under-water quality" and mysterious symbolism. Her technique was experimental, too; she painted in watercolor on the sort of finely woven linen used by the Wright brothers to produce early airplane wings. Perhaps influenced by Surrealism, Freudian analysis, or mental health problems, Sparhawk-Jones' strange, visionary paintings attracted a wide range of reactions from the nation's art critics.
