This naturalistic image is an early example of a series of portraits of Matisse that Grooms' created over the course of his career, two additional examples of which are also in the museum's collection. The image recreates a June 1939 photograph (not published until 1943) by Brassai that was staged in a Parisian studio the painter rented from a sculptor friend, Mary Callery. Grooms' hommage recreates such precise details as the grid-like carpet, the woven screen with easel peeking up from behind it, the floral arrangements and the model's hallmark pose, making it seem as if Grooms' was an unseen onlooker in the original period photo session. The BMA owns two other examples of images by Brassai from this widely published series which depicted the artist at work in his doctor-like white smock.