I keep thinking this mermaid drawing would make a pretty great tattoo! It comes from sketchbook of drawings by Helen Malta, done in the 1930s or so, while she teaching at the Harlem Art Center and working at the New York branch of the WPA graphics division. Surely it is based on an old carving, maybe a figurehead from a ship, and perhaps sketched on site while visiting a New York museum. Malta's work, which also included paintings and prints, is found in collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the National Gallery.
5" x 7" and in very good condition. Signed along the lower right edge of the mermaid.