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GSV9-colman-smith-the-sky

This hand-coloured image is centered on the page, occupying three-quarters of the page, above the text. It is outlined in a thick black rectangular border, in portrait orientation. In the centre of the image, a pale-skinned woman with fair hair sits, facing the viewer, an open book on her lap. She wears a white dress and cap decorated with pink ribbons and roses. She is surrounded by three little children (from left to right): an infant in white, holding a horse on wheels; a young boy in green who stands by the woman’s skirts, looking at the book; and a little girl in purple, holding a doll, standing slightly behind the woman at left. The room is depicted in great detail; a pair of compasses and a rose-patterned cushion litter the floor, a basket of roses sits atop a table covered in a red cloth, and a framed cameo of a woman’s profile hangs on the wall. Behind the woman, rose wallpaper coats the walls, in which is inset a diamond-barred window. Several figurines line the window’s ledge, including a man and woman arm-in-arm, a swan, a large bird, a child and a woman. The artist’s monogram is in the bottom left corner of the frame, with the date 1901.

6” w x 7” h