Painting 1918

This painting by Patrick Henry Bruce is an exercise in the quiet geometry of colour, form, and composition. Bruce's art feels like a game of seeing and arranging, where the canvas becomes a playground for shapes. What strikes me about this painting is the way it balances flatness with depth. The colours are applied in smooth, almost velvety layers, making the shapes feel solid and present. Look at the pale blue form, standing almost like a jug, there is something about the muted colour that feels very calming. And just look at how the light catches one side of the jug! Bruce seems to be in dialogue with painters like Juan Gris and Fernand Léger, but with a distinctly American sensibility. Like them, he sought to find a new language for painting in an era of rapid change and industrialisation. While we might not know exactly what these geometric shapes represent, the painting itself stands as a testament to the power of abstract forms to evoke emotion and thought.