Portrait of Louise Riley

In this portrait, Louise stands in a dramatic theatrical pose. Garbed in a strapless white dress gathered at her waist and again at the hips, Riley gazes up to her left as if in thought. Flowers secured to her bodice and hair act as harbingers of tender gentility. She delicately holds a piece of white fabric aloft behind her which Orval Hixon employs to create an ethereal quality to the portrait. She stands barefoot and on pointe as if yearning for something just out of reach. Her back-lit figure remains partially engulfed by eerie darkness.