Verbal Description: Morning Sun, 1952

Narrator: Morning Sun, 1952. Oil painting on canvas, 28 by 40 inches. The oil painting Morning Sun is a study of light and shadow. A woman sits in an unremarkable bedroom. She is centered in the middle of a tidy bed. Her lean body and gaunt face are in profile to the viewer as she stares directly ahead towards a large window to the right of the canvas. Her torso leans forwards towards her bent legs, arms gently holding her knees, and hands folded at her shins. Although she is folded into herself in a protective pose, there is no tension to her body. Her muscles are relaxed, her face is expressionless. The light pouring in from the window provides harsh lighting, her pale skin in stark contrast. Her light brown hair is pulled back into a messy low bun and she wears a light pink sleeveless dress. The dress is short, exposing her thighs, legs, and bare feet. Her still body casts a long shadow on the bed behind her. 

The bed takes up most of the space in the room, the composition is crammed into the corner. The sparseness of the room gives an unnatural feel to the interior. The walls are a light mint green and are completely bare, except for the window on the right. The bed itself features only a white sheet and pillow. There is a staged quality, the room being cold, dark, and impersonal. Just the woman and the window connecting, as if in conversation with one another. 

Outside the large window is a brilliant cerulean sky fading into a soft light blue. The tops of brick buildings line the bottom edge of the window.