For a half-century before the Second World War, the small town of Tryon, North Carolina was a haven for artists. From its founding in the late 1870s, its population was cosmopolitan, a “country colony” for intellectuals and creative people. Among them was an unusual Jewish couple, she born in India and he in Malaysia, who migrated as British citizens from Paris, France (and away from the Nazi terror) to distant Tryon, NC ... like a plot-line from a best-selling novel. They were artist Stella Sassoon, who created this elegant portrait, and her husband William. Stella depicts an unidentified mature African American woman with beautiful tones of caramel and coffee skin and short curly-ish slightly greying black hair. She is shown from the chest up, her bony collar and shoulders bare, and she's wearing a strapless, gold-colored dress which gives the painting its name. She wears a gold necklace with a pendant that appears to have some orangish and reddish hues in it, plus small dangle earrings. Her expression is somewhat pensive and contemplative. The painting style is loose and expressive, not photorealistic. The brushstrokes with oil paint are visible and contribute to the texture. The colors are warm, with the gold of the dress contrasting against her lovely skin tone. The background is a dark blue vaguely textured aura blending to earth tones. The lighting is soft and subtle, seemingly focused, from our right, on the woman's face, drawing attention to her features and mood. "The Gold Dress" conveys a sense of quiet dignity and beauty. Sassoon's focus seems to be capturing the woman's essence and the artist's loose style allows for a feeling of movement and energy within an otherwise calm composition.
"The Gold Dress" by Stella Sassoon (British American) - Oil on canvas / No date - Tryon Fine Arts Center (North Carolina) #WomenInArt #WomanArtist #art #WomensArt #PortraitofaWoman #FemaleArtist #WomenArtists #StellaSassoon #Sassoon #TryonFineArtsCenter #AmericanArt #artwork #Beauty #fashion #style
