LeRoy Neiman Sketchbook

Brooke Shields came to my New York studio with her mother, Teri. She leaned on my drawing table and looked me straight in the eye, unblinking. There was not a hint of mistrust or defensiveness about her as we talked of travel, art classes, dating and her horse, Cobalt. She was a delightful combination of innocent sophistication, youthful appearance and mature intelligence. She wore no make-up; her color was natural and wholesome. I decided to do the head study first to familiarize myself with her beauty. I switched from charcoal to water colors to sketch the exercises that are part of her daily routine, and suddenly, she changed into a sexy, agile, feline creature, completely different from the schoolgirl who'd sat quietly before me a few minutes earlier. As a student at the school of the Art Institute of Chicago, I had frequently visited John Singer Sargent's life-size nude The Egyptian Girl, painted in 1891. When I met Brooke, I couldn't help comparing her with that painting. Although her body is in the same stance, Sargent's model appears shy, with downcast eyes and palms turned out. My rendering of Brooke shows her eyes forward, hands turned lovingly inward--a portrait of a self-assured, beautiful young lady looking ahead to an adventurous life. This was the first time she had posed for an artist. She said she loved doing it. So did I.