The Writer

Mary Bradish Titcomb

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a woman in profile, sitting at a wooden table strewn with papers, her body angled away from us. She has pale skin and rosy cheeks, and her light brown hair is tied up and adorned with a light blue headband. She wears a light-colored gown that appears mostly white, but also has streaks of light pink, yellow, pale green, and light blue. She is writing on one of the sheets of paper that is scattered on the table. Six potted plants with long green stems and white flowers line the edge of the table across from her. She sits in a room with a brownish-gray wooden floor and pale green walls. There is a bookshelf to the left of the woman, with a framed photograph, a small bowl, and three long white candlesticks of varying heights on top of it. Above the bookshelf is a tall window ledge which is also lined with leafy plants in pink, yellow, light blue, and white pots. White light shines in from between the plants, casting a bright glow on the back of the woman and faint shadows below the table and the chair she sits on. The brushstrokes of the painting, especially those in the background, are visible, giving the painting a slightly hazy quality.