Wall Hanging of Santa Barbara c. 1936

E. Boyd made this wall hanging of Santa Barbara with what looks like watercolor and ink. The limited palette makes me think about the way we simplify things in our memory, boiling them down to their essence. Looking closely, you can see the way she builds up the form of the figure with these dark, fluid lines. It's all about the outline, like a coloring book, but filled in with subtle washes of gray-brown. There's something so direct and unpretentious about the way she renders the folds of the fabric. It reminds me of the work of Paul Klee, who also had this incredible ability to create a whole world with just a few simple marks. It's like Boyd is saying, "Here's what matters: the shape, the line, the feeling." And that's what makes it so powerful, its quiet confidence.