Love Flight of a Pink Candy Heart 1930

Florine Stettheimer made this big painting at some point in her life, and it now lives at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The whole thing shimmers in a wash of bright yellow, like a sunny day dream, and is populated by a cast of characters rendered with a delicate touch. I can imagine Stettheimer in her studio, maybe with music playing, letting her mind wander as she applies these thin layers of paint. What must it have been like to be her, a wealthy lesbian artist in New York, a socialite. Look at how she describes the figures: the long graceful strokes that form a weeping willow, the wispy pink heart floating by, the loose brushstrokes on the lawn, the crisp edges of the heart, the way they all dance together. Stettheimer was part of a whole scene, and her work resonates with that of other artists like Charles Demuth and Marsden Hartley. There's a constant exchange of ideas happening across time, each artist inspiring the next to push the boundaries of their own expression.