This Frank Ashford painting showed up at an auction on the east coast in 2025. We were notified by a daughter of a woman who had passed saying she researched Ashford when turning over all her mother’s items to the auction house. She happened upon this website and contacted us to watch for the painting at auction. She didn’t know where or when her mother obtained the painting, but it had to have been in the 1970s, she believed. It is very large, about 37 1/2″ x 31 1/2″ and in pretty good shape. The frame does not fit the painting and arrived damaged from the shipping. The auction house made no reference of the damage. We were able to obtain it from the auction and it now resides at the McQuillen Creative Group Inc. office, downtown Aberdeen.

There is so much to mention about this painting. It is signed in the upper right corner along with “Paris.” This would have been done while Ashford was residing in Paris. We know it was painted before 1913 as it was mentioned in an Aberdeen Weekly News newspaper article on August 7, 1913. There it described several Ashford paintings that will be exhibited in Chicago in October of 1913. It appears this model was used a lot in a series of paintings by Ashford. She is referred to in the newspaper article as Mademoiselle Xavier. She can be seen in several other paintings on this site, some perhaps less recognizable. In every painting, Ashford painted her skin to appear white. Which was a common stylistic choice to possibly symbolize purity, innocence, and high social status. The article mentions that this painting may also be called The Chinese Robe. The robe can also be seen in the Xavier paintings. Compare this to The Nude, Woman in Full Length Mirror, and possibly Three Sisters. The background mural or wallpaper can also be seen in other paintings.

This painting is valued at $5,000.