During the 1920s the painter and printmaker Otto Dix was prominent in the German art movement known as Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). This portrait study is a fine example of his emulation of the draftsmanship of Northern Renaissance artists.

Nelly is a small lithograph of the artist's daughter (1923–1955) at age one. She is shown in Dix's customary close-up, three-quarter view, which accentuates the roundness of her full face. Her curly hair is a tousled mop, and she wears an elaborate lace collar, which fits tightly around her chubby neck. The portrait conveys vitality and a nascent personality, although not endearment. Nelly stares determinedly ahead, and her purposeful mouth suggests an intensity of character, even at such a young age. Dix's dedication to unsparing, clinical objectivity extended even to his depiction of his own young daughter. He portrayed her with not many traces of paternal sentiment.

This print is a welcome addition to the Museum's holdings of works by modern German artists such as Dix and Max Beckmann (1884–1950), an area of collecting that has been made possible by Reba and Dave Williams.