Praying Mantis 1924

Clinton Blair King made this print called Praying Mantis, sometime in the mid 20th century. Look at how King used line! It’s like he’s untangling a thought right in front of us. The mantis almost hides within a flurry of marks, some dark and assertive, others light and tentative. Check out the mantis’s forelegs, they're rendered with such bold strokes, yet they dissolve into the background. King is letting the image emerge, bit by bit, through the process of printmaking. The textures are so varied, some areas are deeply etched, others barely touched. It’s as if he’s feeling his way through the image, discovering it as he goes. It makes me think of Picasso, how he also loved to play with line and form. But here, King brings a more personal touch, it’s less about deconstructing the world and more about finding a connection with it. Ultimately, this image is about embracing the unexpected and celebrating the beauty of imperfection.