John La Farge American, 1835-1910
The Sphynx is Weary, She Dreams o'er the World, 1865
Gouache, watercolor and black chalk on illustration board
10 1/4 x 12 3/8 inches
Initialed and dated lower right
According to Dr. James L. Yarnall, 'This is one of La Farge's most experimental watercolors of the 1860s. Mixing chalk, watercolor and gouache, he developed the kind of heavy-laden, expressive...
According to Dr. James L. Yarnall, "This is one of La Farge's most experimental watercolors of the 1860s. Mixing chalk, watercolor and gouache, he developed the kind of heavy-laden, expressive and painterly surface effects that came to characterize his watercolors after 1880." This was one of several works that La Farge made to illustrate Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem, The Sphinx (this image was never published).