Anna Mae 1944

William H. Johnson created this painting, Anna Mae, with what looks like the simplest materials: paint and maybe a brush. The way he builds up the colours, with layer upon layer, feels very intuitive and process-driven. Look at the purple chair against the blue-grey background and then how this is picked up in the shadows under the chair, giving it an odd kind of depth. The paint has a beautiful, chalky quality, slightly uneven as if it’s been reworked, that gives the surface a real presence. The patterns and colours are deceptively simple. The painting makes me think of Bob Thompson, with his folksy, flattened figures and bold colour combinations, both capturing something essential and raw. This feels like a very personal image, but at the same time, it's open, allowing us to bring our own experiences and interpretations to it.