In 1933 Torr and her husband, Arthur Dove, moved to Geneva, New York, to settle his family's estate. There she created a series of self portraits, which are her first exploration of this subject and her only extant figurative works. After several discarded attempts, the artist began this painting in February 1934. She wrote of it in her diary: "A more orderly palette. Better in color but not yet the one of me." Nevertheless, like the later I, this self-portrayal is compellingly honest. Torr's straightforward gaze makes it impossible to ignore the carefully rendered shadows defining her careworn face, revealing the toll that the artist's difficult life had taken on her. [http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/10aa/10aa636.htm]