"Nude in Brown and Ivory," and its companion painting "Ivory Nude" explore this color and value combination--a strongly lit subject and even brighter surface/furniture against a dark room. In this painting the artist focuses on the three values of brightest, bright, and dark and the dance of all three as the light travels through the figure and goes to dark. The markmaking in the sheet and in the figure to denote the folds convey a lightness and elegance to the piece, akin to a few musical notes chimed and then silence.