Untitled [head of a woman looking left] 1955 - 1967

This portrait of a woman looking left was drawn by Richard Diebenkorn, using what looks like charcoal on paper. I love the searching quality of the line, the way it loops around the head and shoulders. It's like Diebenkorn is feeling his way through the form, capturing a likeness but also something more elusive. You can imagine him stepping back, squinting, adjusting, the charcoal smudging under his thumb. The hair is a mass of energetic scribbles. It reminds me of de Kooning’s gestural portraits of women, or even Giacometti’s drawings. I wonder if Diebenkorn was thinking about those artists when he made this? The button detail running down her top is a nice touch, which might give us a clue as to who she was, or their relationship. Ultimately, this drawing captures a moment of looking, a fleeting encounter frozen in time. It’s a reminder that art is as much about the process of seeing as it is about the final image. And I find myself thinking about all the other artists who’ve drawn and painted portraits, an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other’s creativity.