Romaine Brooks

I have noticed my paintings are developing into a similar range of muted colors. I find I cannot use bright colors and end up graying my colors quite a bit. I also find my clothes and furniture are in a similar palette.  I guess this is what they mean by "Life imitates art or Art imitates life".......... Discovered this artist whose palette I can very much relate too, she is definitely bold in her choices for that period but I am loving the subdued palette and subject matter - ROMAINE BROOKS. Quite a life she led - read more here. 


Romaine Brooks (May 1, 1874 – December 7, 1970), born Beatrice Romaine Goddard, was an American painter who specialized in portraiture and used a subdued palette dominated by the color gray. Brooks ignored contemporary artistic trends such as Cubism and Fauvism, drawing instead on the Symbolist and Aesthetic movements of the 19th century, especially the works of James McNeill Whistler. Her subjects ranged from anonymous models to titled aristocrats, but she is best known for her images of women in androgynous or masculine dress, including her self-portrait of 1923, which is her most widely reproduced work.^[1]

Self Portrait (1923)

The Black Cap (1907)

Peter, a Young English Girl (1923–1924), a portrait of the artist Gluck

All images via the Little Augury Blog.