The Disappearance of Mary Drake, McCalls magazine story illustration 1952

Tom Lovell made this illustration for the McCall’s magazine story, The Disappearance of Mary Drake, and you can see how the story unfolds through the way he applies the paint. There's a great dynamism created through these characters, caught in a heightened moment, and the whole scene is rendered with such purpose. Look at how the paint is built up, especially in the foreground - those delicious marks on the yellow chair practically vibrate off the surface! Then look at the woman leaving the room, the paint almost seems to dissolve into the background. Isn’t that interesting, how Lovell guides your eye to the ‘right’ part of the story? Norman Rockwell springs to mind when I look at this piece, you can see they were both aiming for this specific brand of American realism. And maybe that’s what I love most about art - the ongoing conversation between artists, echoing and responding across time.