Leonard Gow 1927

This is Muirhead Bone’s etching of Leonard Gow, and what gets me is the way he’s captured the essence of a person through line work. I imagine Bone, bent over the plate, scratching away with focused intensity. Notice how each mark contributes to the overall form. See that series of short, quick strokes defining the curve of Gow’s cheek? It is a way of seeing, a thinking through touch and pressure. What was Bone thinking as he worked? Was he trying to capture more than just a likeness? Did he want to show us something about the man's inner life? Maybe Bone wanted to share something about the weight of responsibility or the quiet contemplation of a life lived. It's all there in those lines, waiting for us to discover. And that’s the thing about making art, we artists, we're always in conversation, echoing and riffing off each other across time.