Off Mission Point (aka Point Lobos) 

Rose O'Neill created this oil on canvas painting, Off Mission Point, with simple materials but considerable skill. The visible brushstrokes and impasto application of paint give the impression of spontaneity, yet the color scheme is carefully controlled. The artist’s hand and the material itself are very present here. You get a sense of the manual effort involved in applying paint to canvas, mixing colors, and building up layers to create depth and texture. O'Neill was best known as a commercial illustrator, and there's a compelling tension between the free expression and the labor of illustration, a more constrained profession. It begs the question: How do we value different kinds of artistic work? Ultimately, this painting encourages us to reflect on the value we assign to different forms of labor and creativity, challenging traditional notions of 'high' art and the often-overlooked skills and craftsmanship inherent in commercial art forms.