Anonymous 19th Century American School: Nude Ephebe

This beautiful drawing came into my collection about ten years ago. Ordinarily I try to buy works in their original state, full undamaged pages, and hopefully signed and dated but I could not pass up this nice work. There are works I have bought in spite of the fact that they are damaged along the edges because of the technical aspects of the drawing itself. This drawing has been cut down from it's original size and is apparently not signed. I really believe that cutting down a drawing in order to save on framing is never a good thing. The seller assured me it is from a 19th century American Art School but to my eye the model and the drawing has a European flavor. The artist has caught that contraposito pose precisely and the youthful essence of the model. A very fine drawing in spite of spotting and being cut down from its original size.
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