Study in Whites

In 1964 both Fred and Eileen Whitaker received a grant from the Huntington Hartford Foundation in Pacific Palisades, California, to work on a project of their choice at the foundation. Eileen chose to explore the possibilities of acrylic on Masonite to resemble egg tempera. Hence, this painting is a “study” in whites as she experimented. Eileen described the freedom at the foundation as an “unexpected never-to-be-dreamed-of-experience” and acrylics as “an exciting experiment.” She painted occasionally with acrylic, but she decided, “The transparent technique on paper is my medium.”