Tie-back c. 1938

Helen Bronson made this small drawing called 'Tie-back' using pencil on paper. I love the subtle, almost hidden quality of the lines she's made, like the drawing is whispering to you. The color is so warm, the tones of brown remind me of a polished antique. There's something incredibly satisfying about the precision here; the way the hair curls and flows, and the sharp angle of the neck. I wonder what kind of pencil she used to get such fine lines, or how many times she had to sharpen it down to the nub! It’s as if she’s meticulously tracing a memory, not just an image. The way she uses shading, almost imperceptibly, to give depth to the figure, brings her to life. This piece reminds me of Agnes Martin’s quiet, meditative drawings, where the beauty lies in the repetition and the small imperfections. To me, art is a conversation across time, a game of telephone, each artist whispering something new into the mix.