Film noir meets Op Art. A mysterious woman, her face and body mostly in shadow, emerges from a glowing tunnel of light. The strobing rays give this noir heroine an angelic aspect, as well as suggesting a near-death experience. Woman was created at the time of Robert’s cancer series, though the model, Heather Pitt, is most familiar from his earlier series on troubled lovers.

Woman is one of several works, in which a figure interacts with a field of energy. The idea first appeared with animal motifs, in Wolf and Raven. The energy field in Woman resembles the rays of the sun. Robert associated these rays with notions of health and healing, as can be seen in his Jung-inspired design, Partnered with the Sun. The connection linking a field of energy, human agency and health is fully expressed in Robert’s woodcut, Healing Hands.