Sarah Ogden Gustin

Joshua Johnson

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a seated woman depicted from the knees up. She is sitting in a dark reddish-brown chair with a dark green cushion, her body turned slightly to the left, facing the viewer. She has both arms resting on her lap, her left hand holding a small twig with round green leaves and her right hand holding a small book open. She has light skin, dark brown eyes, thin eyebrows, thin pink lips set in a neutral expression, and dark curly hair styled away from her face and adorned with a white headband. She wears a dark red dress with lace detailing around the neckline and the cuffs of the short sleeves. The background features a dark gray wall on the right, with a white window on the left providing a view of an outdoor scene with leafy green trees and a sky that is a gradient of light gray and light blue, with light pink at the horizon.