untitled (Boy Reading, unfinished)

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Description:

Watercolor on paper of a figure drawing. Ball probably composed this quick sketch of a boy seated and reading, likely for the purpose of practice in capturing the pose and defining characteristics of the model. The unidentified boy wears a grey shirt tucked into his pants and sits with his arm resting on his knee with the other leg curled under him using his left arm for support. The book he is reading is conveyed using few lines. The image consists of blocks of solid color, apparently added without an initial pencil sketch since no pencil lines are visible. The boy leaves no shadow on his surroundings, though there are shadows on his torso. The pigment is applied in a wet-in-wet technique everywhere except for the arms. Written in the bottom right corner, where the name of the subject is generally located, reads: "FW."