Untitled (Two nude women) 1927

Charles Houghton Howard made this drawing, Untitled (Two nude women), with pen and ink on paper. I can only imagine what it must have been like for him to work with just pen and ink! The commitment and precision needed to create a world of tonal variation. There's no erasure here! The figures, they feel very rounded and voluminous, a bit like Léger or even Picasso in his classical period. The American flag in the background and the window looking out onto the street, these touches are particularly poignant. The composition makes me think a lot about painting and the possibilities of art making, which always involves an exchange between artists across time. It's a conversation through lines and shapes, a kind of dance of creativity that embraces uncertainty and open-ended interpretation.