String Quartette c. 1940

Olin Herman Travis's "String Quartette" is a lithograph depicting four musicians in an exaggerated and dynamic style. The composition is set against a background of a dramatic sky and a broken column. One musician plays a violin while another violinist is sprawled on the ground and a cellist plays while perched on a broken pillar. The fourth musician is playing a flute and seems to float amongst the branches of a tree. The use of line and shadow creates a sense of depth and energy, characteristic of Travis's style. The artwork, created in the 1940s, showcases the artist's ability to depict both the excitement and the melancholy inherent in musical performance.