Portrait of Anna May Wong

Alice Pike Barney's pastel portrait captures the Chinese-American actress during the height of the silent film era. Wong was among the first Asian performers to achieve major Hollywood roles, appearing in *The Thief of Bagdad* (1924) and *The Jazz Singer* (1927). Barney, a Cincinnati-born artist and playwright, worked in pastel and oils, often depicting theatrical subjects and prominent figures of her era. This intimate three-quarter profile, rendered in soft greens and blues against a textured background, conveys Wong's composed presence and the technical refinement characteristic of 1920s American portraiture.