Sketch of Two Women

This drawing by the French-born American sculptor Gaston Lachaise (1882-1935) was made during his early years spent on American soil, where New York became his second home. The delicate ink lines suggest silhouettes of female figures embodying naiads. In the treatment of the theme, Lachaise alludes to the decorative, planar stylization he had learned while working for a short time as an apprentice for the French jewellery designer René Lalique, one of the leading proponents of Parisian Art Nouveau.