Artist:
Elizabeth Shippen Green
(American, 1871 - 1954)
I was alone in a palace of leaves
Medium: Charcoal and wash on paper
Date: 1902
Dimensions:
23 1/2 × 14 3/4 in. (59.7 × 37.5 cm)
Accession number: 2003.14.2
Label Copy:
After her schooling at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Drexel University, Elizabeth Shippen Green was a successful illustrator and artist. She preferred using soft materials such as charcoal or pastel to achieve her signature style. Green worked for Harper’s Monthly during most of her career. I Was Alone in a Palace of Leaves being an illustration of Richard le Gallienne’s story "Our Tree-Top Library" published in Harper’s in March 1902. The artist was commissioned to illustrate other scenes from the story, but here she depicts a well-dressed man sitting upon a tree branch looking below. The use of soft charcoal is evident in the illustration with the artist’s use of contrasting light and smooth shading in the details.
After her schooling at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Drexel University, Elizabeth Shippen Green was a successful illustrator and artist. She preferred using soft materials such as charcoal or pastel to achieve her signature style. Green worked for Harper’s Monthly during most of her career. I Was Alone in a Palace of Leaves being an illustration of Richard le Gallienne’s story "Our Tree-Top Library" published in Harper’s in March 1902. The artist was commissioned to illustrate other scenes from the story, but here she depicts a well-dressed man sitting upon a tree branch looking below. The use of soft charcoal is evident in the illustration with the artist’s use of contrasting light and smooth shading in the details.