A frontal ink portrait of a young face — nearly symmetric, the eyes looking slightly downward, the face open and unguarded in the way of youth. The face may be a child or a young teenager: the features are rounded, the chin soft, the forehead broad, the hair swept back loosely with several strands falling at either side. The ears are visible at both sides of the face with the characteristic ear-mark specificity. The ink line is fluid and relatively spare: the outer contour of the face, the hair's general mass, and the interior features each described with the minimum marks needed.
The frontality of this portrait is notable — the face looking out from the paper at a slight downward angle, the eyes visible but not directly meeting the viewer, the expression neutral and slightly internal. Among the ink portraits in the new portfolio, this is the youngest face: the rounded features, the soft chin, the wide forehead all read as pre-adult. The ink on the warm ochre ground gives the face a warmth that suits its youth.
The portrait classification in the CSV distinguishes this from the nude figure studies, correctly identifying it as a face study rather than a body study. As an ink portrait of a young face it sits between the intimate pen portraits of Works 1443 and 1444 (which were careful, deliberate profile studies) and the bold large-format portraits of Works 1472 and 1477 (which were assertive and socially grounded). This one occupies its own register: quick, frontal, young, the face not yet fully formed into the particular character it will become.