Portrait of Nina Hamnett

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: The Gallery of the Courtland Institute of Art, London (the UK).

The portrait of the artist, who was not only a model for several plot works by Fry but also his lover, was painted in the manner of post-impressionism. Looking at this chaste and thoughtful young lady in black, it is hard to imagine that Hamnett was known for her eccentricity, scandalous behaviour and bisexuality (Picasso called Nina the Queen of Bohemia). However, taking into account the fact that she also looks like innocence itself in the portrait by Modigliani, we can assume that Fry did not sin against her real appearance. In the same year, he painted Nina with a guitar, Nina in a plaid dress, and two years earlier – naked on a sofa.