Unidentified Study [verso] c. 1920 - 1940

Joseph Stella made this Unidentified Study in pencil on paper. It's a quick sketch, really, but it suggests so much. I can imagine Stella hunched over this little notebook, maybe in a park or cafe, quickly trying to capture an idea before it flits away. The lines are tentative, searching—like he’s feeling his way through the form, trying to give shape to something vague but compelling. The drawing seems to teeter back and forth between abstraction and representation. Is it a study of a sculpture, or an angel, or just an idea for a future work? That's the joy of sketches, right? They're not about perfection or completion, but about the spark of an idea, the raw energy of the creative process. It’s an intimate glimpse into the artist’s mind. You can imagine this piece acting as a site of inquiry for Stella, as he tries to decide what he wants to paint, or how he wants to see the world.