Nude study, classic on a couch

Bellows, George, 1882-1925 · 1923–1924

The eight nudes in the last series, 1923-24, are all variations on the same theme; each of the eight bears the same handwritten title "Study." All of the individual prints are now identified by the words, "Nude Study," followed by a descriptive title. Returning to one of his earliest ideas for lithographs, the artist worked and reworked the female form, fascinated with the classical concept of the female body as the ideal subject for a work of art. Unlike so many of his other lithographs, no attempt was made to convey a message by means of either illustration or anecdotal caption. (Mason)