Study for a Dancing Woman, 'Moods to Music,' Mendelssohn Glee Club, New York, NY

Robert Frederick Blum's sketch captures a woman in motion, her body twisting upward with raised arm and flowing drapery. The rapid charcoal strokes convey spontaneous gesture rather than finished detail, suggesting study work for a larger theatrical or musical composition. Blum, known for his illustration and mural work in the 1890s, sketched figures this way to understand movement and anatomy before rendering final designs. The Mendelssohn Glee Club, a prestigious New York musical society, commissioned theatrical presentations that required elaborate scenic and figural designs. This drawing demonstrates the working methods of an American artist navigating the intersection of fine art, theater design, and commercial illustration in the Gilded Age.