Mrs. Ichabod M. Cushman (nee Nancy Blymer)

Henry Williams

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In choosing pastel for this portrait, Williams was following John Singleton Copley, who developed great skill in the medium before he left Boston for a career in England in 1774. Whereas Copley preferred a velvety surface of chalks, Williams applied distinct strokes of pastel on a carefully blended layer of pigment. Williams softened the tones of the face by stumping, a technique of smudging strokes using a tight roll of paper or a chamois tied with a string, or even the artist’s finger. He subsequently added several parallel, diagonal strokes of pink on Mrs. Cushman’s brow and cheek. Having deftly manipulated the crayon to render the diaphanous fabric of the bodice, Williams also applied strokes of white along the ruffled neckline so that it would contrast with the smoothed surface beneath.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art