Indian c. 1938

Frank Gutting made this watercolor painting of an ‘Indian’ figure at some point in his long life, and there's a real process of playful, thoughtful looking at play here. Gutting uses thin layers of transparent watercolor, building up the image with delicate strokes. The figure stands stiffly, yet the soft, blended edges of the colors give it a kind of dreamlike quality. The textures are all very flat, but Gutting still manages to suggest the different materials of the figure’s clothing. Look how the red cloak drapes, each stroke defining a fold or shadow. The colors are vibrant, almost childlike in their intensity, but the overall effect is strangely formal. Gutting’s ‘Indian’ reminds me a bit of the work of Henri Rousseau, another self-taught artist who created his own unique vision of the world. Ultimately, this piece is a great example of how art can be a conversation across time, full of echoes and reinterpretations.