Indian Girl in White Blanket

One of the group of urban realist painters known as the Eight and a highly influential teacher, Robert Henri devoted himself to portraiture beginning in 1902. Rather than work on commission, he chose to depict people of many ages and nationalities, seeking subjects in the United States and abroad. The artist painted _Indian Girl in a White Blanket _in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of 10 likenesses he completed of Julianita, a young woman from San Ildefonso pueblo studying at an Indian school located near the artist’s studio in the Palace of the Governors.

Applying a bold, modern painting style to an indigenous American theme, _Indian Girl in a White Blanket _presents both a sympathetic likeness and a dramatic arrangement of form and color. The softly curving folds of lushly painted white drapery that envelop the dignified Julianita create a sense of depth, while a geometrically patterned blanket inspired by Native American designs provides a vibrant backdrop. The artist often supplied these accessories himself, because he was interested not in depicting Native American life or material culture from an anthropological perspective, but rather from an aesthetic and expressive one. As he stated: “I only want to find whatever of the great spirit there is in the Southwest. If I can hold it on my canvas, I am satisfied.”