Girl (C)

The undated Girl (C) belongs to the series of childhood portraits that form one of Saito's most distinctive subjects—faces of children, usually girls, depicted in close-up with the same formal concentration he brought to Buddhist statuary and temple gates. The (C) designation suggests this is the third in a sequence of related girl portraits, varying in pose, color, or some subtlety of expression. Children's faces held for Saito a quality of unguarded presence unavailable in adult portraits.