Winter Valley 1944

Lamar Dodd made this painting, Winter Valley, with oil on canvas, but it feels like something else, almost gouache, because of the matte surface and earthy palette. Dodd's application is very direct, not fussy, and the paint is fairly thin, not obscuring the weave of the canvas. What's interesting is how he's captured the scene with these simple strokes, almost like he's knitted the houses and sky together with his brush. Look at the cluster of houses to the foreground, the way he's laid down strokes of green to describe the walls. It's not about detail but about creating a sense of place. The whole piece has a ghostly, dreamlike feel, reminding me a little bit of Milton Avery, in the way he simplifies forms and uses color to create mood. But Dodd’s mark making feels rawer, less refined, more aligned to a tradition of American scene painting. Ultimately, the power of this painting lies in its ability to evoke a specific atmosphere, a particular mood of quiet isolation.