Earths Throat Edge 1920

Arthur Bowen Davies made "Earths Throat Edge" with oil paint and a view to something primordial. The palette is earthy yet dreamy; a kind of imagined origin story. Davies lays down these washes, letting the strokes be seen, like a map of his own making. Up close, notice how the bodies are rendered with such soft, blended edges, almost like they're emerging from the very landscape itself, which is built from a kind of chunky, almost sculptural impasto. The paint is thick but in places it looks almost translucent. Then there's that brooding sky, painted with such expressive brushstrokes, it feels turbulent, full of both light and shadow. It reminds me of Albert Pinkham Ryder, who like Davies, was drawn to the elemental, the poetic. Davies isn’t just painting a scene; he’s conjuring a feeling, a mood. It’s a feeling of being connected to something ancient, something deeply rooted in the earth and sky, and something forever open to interpretation.