Although figure painting was not the most popular genre exhibited at California Water Color Society annuals, this portrait by Ejnar Hansen was awarded the society’s purchase prize in 1944.
The head and shoulders of an elderly man are incisively modeled with full and vigorous brush strokes. All that is known of the sitter is that he committed suicide shortly after this portrait was completed. In the man’s tired face, etched with deep creases, and dazed, far-off gaze, Hansen portrayed the turmoil and sorrow of the subject’s life. This poignant image, one of Hansen’s favorite works, is one of several paintings he made on the theme of men near death.
