Name: Nancy K. Anderson

Occupation: Curator of American and British paintings, National Gallery of Art

Residence: Northwest D.C.

Why I chose this picture: This small painting is a recent gift to the National Gallery, which makes it special for us.

It’s grisaille — a painting in black, white and shades of gray. It’s quite likely that Brush’s full-scale paintings have grisaille images underneath, because this is the way he was taught to paint when he was studying abroad. Color was applied later and on top. The painting was probably done not long after Brush arrived in Wyoming in 1882, and this individual was clearly sitting in front of him.