Collection
/
American Art

Sketch of a Spanish Man

Edward Penfield

1 of 11

Object Label

In these two works, Edward Penfield used controlled graphite outlines and watercolor washes to detail the tattered clothes and scruffy faces of working men he encountered during a 1906 trip through Spain. The frank realism of his approach gives his images a documentary authenticity; indeed, they were most likely studies for his illustrated travelogue Spanish Sketches (1911). While capitalizing on Americans’ fascination with the picturesque appeal of Spain, Penfield also endowed his subjects with a dignity reflected in their proud bearing.

Caption

Edward Penfield (American, 1866–1925). Sketch of a Spanish Man, 1906. Watercolor and graphite on medium-weight, off-white, moderately textured, wove paper, sheet: 11 1/2 x 7 3/4 in. (29.2 x 19.7 cm) scrap book: 12 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 2 1/4 in. (31.1 x 24.1 x 5.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 61.36.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

American Art

Title

Sketch of a Spanish Man

Date

1906

Medium

Watercolor and graphite on medium-weight, off-white, moderately textured, wove paper

Classification

Watercolor

Dimensions

sheet: 11 1/2 x 7 3/4 in. (29.2 x 19.7 cm) scrap book: 12 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 2 1/4 in. (31.1 x 24.1 x 5.7 cm)

Signatures

Unsigned

Inscriptions

Inscribed in black in on inside of front cover, lower right (border of page near binding): "Penfield Note Book"

Markings

Stamped in upper left corner of watercolor sheet, in black: "11952"

Credit Line

Gift of the Enoch Pratt Free Library

Accession Number

61.36.1

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Artists and makers

Edward Penfield

42 works in the collection