Mrs. T. in Cream Silk, Number 2 was painted by George Bellows in 1920, just five years before his untimely death at the age of forty-five. Mrs. T. was Mary Brown Tyler, a Chicago dowager whom Bellows had known in Chicago in 1919. It is an immensely appealing painting on many levels, and has already become a great favorite in our galleries.Obviously, it is the portrait of a fascinating old lady in a picturesque dress, but it is equally obvious that Bellows saw a great deal more in her than that. This is the second version he did of the subject which is, in fact, an elaborate exercise in formal composition. Both the surface and spatial organization are far more complex than one first realized, and the extremely subtle color and tonal relationships and harmonies bear exhaustive analysis. In short, it is a highly finished and important work of this important American artist's mature period.Referenced Work of Art

1. George Bellows, American, 1882-1925. Mrs. T. in Cream Silk, Number 2, 1920. Oil on canvas, 52” x 44”. The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund, 1960, 60.33.