Untitled Possibly 1946

Judith Rothschild made this small abstract painting on board, with its simplified shapes and muted tones, sometime during her career, though we don’t know exactly when. What grabs me about it is the color, the way she’s laid down these blocks of ochre, grey, and pale lavender. It’s like she’s figuring out how colors talk to each other. The black outlines give it a graphic feel, almost like a diagram. Then there’s the surface, which has a kind of matte quality, built up with layers. Look closely at the yellow curve, how it sits against the white and gray, guiding your eye around the composition. It is soft and thick, like butter in the sunlight. It's not just a painting, it's a conversation between shapes and hues. Rothschild shares a lot of qualities with other mid-century abstractionists like, say, Carmen Herrera. But Rothschild's got this quirky, playful thing going on that feels all her own. It is a reminder that art is about possibilities and that there's always more than one way to see.