An Art Student's Filled Sketchbook, Art Institute of Chicago, c1950

Sonya Zoe Little (1928-2011) was born in Chicago but grew up in Texas. After high school, she attended the Art Institute. It seems that she married, had children, and didn't pursue her art. That's too bad because I like her work. You can tell that in this album, she was working on finding her own style. There is even a page where she practiced her signature. The sketchbook is mostly figural work, a lot of nude female models. She used red and black ink, charcoal, and I think colored pencils. There are a few pages where she used a colored wash as well. As you'll see, she also tried her hand at channeling Picasso. There are some more cartoony images, mostly heads. There are some full color images as well. A few city scapes appear too, although they're more clumsy. A few of the pages have dates in 1950.

The 8 x10 notebook is generally in very good condition; the binding has separated a bit inside and the covers have wear. This is not surprising given the object's use. The interior pages are fine. Her name is filled in on the cover and appears many places elsewhere on the pages. Several pages have been torn out.

If you want to see more photos than the ones here, just ask.