Maxwell Stewart Simpson Male Nude Study, Pencil on Paper, Signed and Dated Paris 1929

Story

He is all movement, captured in a single line.

A male nude seen from behind, his body turning forward as one arm reaches into the empty space beyond the page. The pose feels momentary—the model caught between positions rather than settled into one. With little more than a confident contour and a few precisely placed shadows, the artist gives the figure weight, tension, and direction.

The paper has mellowed beautifully with age. Beneath layered cream matting and a substantial warm wood frame, the figure has room to breathe. The entire piece feels quiet and architectural, but never static. It would be especially good in a bedroom, library, or at the end of a hallway, where that sense of movement can draw the eye forward.

Origin

Found in Hudson, New York. Signed “Maxwell St. Simpson” and inscribed “Paris 1929,” identifying the artist as Maxwell Stewart Simpson (American, 1896–1984). Simpson studied at New York’s National Academy of Design and the Art Students League before traveling and working in Europe. This Paris figure study reflects that academic training while already showing the economy and modernity that would characterize his mature work.

Pencil on paper, depicting a standing male nude viewed from behind. Signed, located, and dated at lower right. Presented under glass with layered cream matting in a substantial warm natural-wood frame.

Condition

Good vintage condition. The paper shows overall toning, soft creasing, gentle rippling, and scattered marks consistent with age and studio use. The matting shows minor age-related discoloration; the wood frame has light surface wear. Presented under glass and not examined outside the frame.

Dimensions

26" H × 19" W (framed)

Sourcing Note

I found him while sourcing in Hudson, and it was the line of the back that caught me first—the turn through the shoulders, the weight of the legs, and that outstretched hand reaching beyond the paper.

The signature & inscription also caught my eye: Paris, 1929. The drawing is far more than a beautiful body; it was a surviving moment from an artist’s life nearly a century ago, recorded quickly enough that the movement still feels present. Paris between the wars, a young American artist practicing his art in a city like no other. 

The frame sealed it for me. Its broad proportions, warm wood, and layered matting give the figure room to breathe without competing with him. It is restrained, handsome, and inseparable from the way the drawing now reads.

I wasn’t leaving Hudson without him.

From the road: Hudson & the Hudson Valley Field Notes →