Boy-Watching

Eileen was enthralled by Indian “fashion” which, in the case of Boy Watching, combines the modern look of the confident young man in jeans and striped shirt with the Indian maidens watching him. While the young girls are depicted in native costume and appear at home in an Indian setting, the boy’s outfit also has accents of his Indian culture: the silver decorations on his belt, the turquoise adorned tie, the feathered hat. In this painting, Eileen’s “wonderful backgrounds” go beyond the exciting and moving abstract to feature two images essential to the composition and its emphasis.