Ethel V. Ashton, Young Girl

According to family members, Ashton identified this painting as a portrait of her close friend Rhoda Myers Medary. Ashton and Myers Medary both attended the Philadelphia Design School for Women (now Moore College of Art & Design), traveled together in Europe, and shared a studio for several years. It would prove a formative relationship in both of their early artistic careers. Here Ashton depicts Myers Medary with a serene expression, surrounded by a formless background of saturated color.