Study of Hands for Portrait of Mrs. McCready

Daniel Huntington's preparatory sketch demonstrates the academic practice of isolating anatomical elements before completing a full portrait. These two studies of relaxed hands, rendered in graphite with delicate hatching, show the artist's careful attention to gesture and form—the subtle curvature of fingers, the play of light across knuckles, the naturalistic positioning that conveys the sitter's bearing. Such sketches were fundamental to nineteenth-century portrait practice, allowing artists to resolve compositional challenges and ensure convincing anatomical rendering in the finished work. Huntington's methodical approach reflects his training in the neoclassical tradition and his position as a leading American portraitist of the era.