African Theme III 1953

Charles Alston made this evocative painting, *African Theme III*, with oils, brushed and smeared across the canvas. It’s all browns and tans, and it feels like a figure emerging from the earth. I imagine Alston building this image, layer by layer, rubbing and scraping back, letting the underpainting peek through. There’s a real sense of searching. It's like he’s digging into his own memory, pulling out shapes and lines that feel both ancient and deeply personal. That big, looping curve on the left—is it an arm, an arc, or just a gesture? It doesn’t matter. It’s the feeling it carries, a kind of grounded grace, that counts. Alston's work always felt connected to a bigger conversation, a dialogue with artists past and present. He understood that painting isn’t just about making a picture. It's about thinking through feeling, finding new ways to see and be in the world, one brushstroke at a time.