Studies from Hacienda Molino de Flores

Frederic Edwin Church's rapid pencil sketches capture figures and architectural details at a Mexican estate. These working drawings—informal studies of a woman in period dress, profile studies, and gestural notations—reveal the Hudson River School painter's method of visual research during travels. Church frequently sketched on paper before translating observations into large exhibition paintings. These pages document both his subjects and his economy of line, the quick notation that allowed him to record impressions for later studio development.