"Small Figure" is a self portrait of the girl Barnes’ was growing up with her parents. Small under the coat and short on the page it portrays a scene of a small girl hunching over further emphasizing how powerless she felt as a child. The sweater covering her figure and the use of monotone color palette convey a sense of being hidden away in the background. Although the figure doesn't take all the vertical space on the paper, it takes of a majority of the overall space that utilizes perspective to make the viewer see the child from the child's point of view. The artist in her childlike state painted a portrait of her old life at the start of her new life. A resurrection in a way she would go through turmoil to find her inner peace alluding to Jesus's crucifixion.