Sarah B. 1924

Robert Henri made this painting, Sarah B., using oils, with dark purples in the background to contrast the child's bright yellow shirt and blue scarf. Henri lays down color with bold strokes, letting the paint’s texture do some of the work. Look closely at the scarf: you can almost feel the way the brush dragged across the canvas, catching on the weave. The paint isn’t blended into smoothness, but has this ruggedness, like the artist wanted you to see the doing of it. I particularly love the little flecks of warm color Henri dabs on Sarah's cheeks and forehead. They bring her face forward from the depths of the dark background. It's like he's saying, "Here is this person, made of light and shadow, both present." Henri knew and taught many important artists, and you can see in his approach to capturing the immediacy of a scene echoes of painters like Manet and even, later, someone like Alice Neel, who I really adore. Like them, he creates paintings that are alive and breathing, full of the energy of the moment.