The New Uncle Sam c. 1920s

Clifford Kennedy Berryman made this drawing, titled “The New Uncle Sam” using ink on paper. Look at the repetitive, almost frantic hatching lines, a real process of mark making here. You can feel the artist moving the pen across the paper, again and again. The image is built from the layering of these thin lines, cross-hatched and built up to create areas of tone and shadow. See the way the lines curve and change direction to describe the volumes of the bags of money that old Uncle Sam is holding onto so tightly. The drawing feels immediate, like you can see the artist working through his ideas. And the marks are very clear, nothing obscure about them. It makes me think about Honoré Daumier who also used the immediacy of drawing to capture the political mood of the moment. There’s a sense here that art can be a direct response to the world, a way of grappling with the issues of the day. This piece embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations. It doesn't give us any fixed meanings.