For the daughter of a doctor and an inventor, born on a modest New Jersey farm to grow up to reach for and attain literal and figurative heights of the glamorous life of a reknowned dancer. As a dancer, Ruth St. Denis would grow up to co-found the American Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts as well as instruct several promising students who themselves would develop into notable performers. In this portrait, St. Denis poses in a contrapposto stance with her arms crossed above her head. Her chin is slightly raised and her eyes are closed. Multiple strings of beads of various lengths grace her neck. She wears an embellished bralette with a sheer drape, and low-rise ankle length pants. Her front-lit figure seems to appear from the depths of darkness that recedes behind her.