John J. Wagner Family Portrait c. 1940

Here's Archie Thompson's folksy, enigmatic portrait of the John J. Wagner family, painted with what looks like thin, careful layers of oil on canvas. The color palette is mostly browns and blacks, punctuated by the pale faces of the family, who stare straight ahead, as if waiting for something. I can imagine Thompson, brush in hand, trying to capture not just likeness, but the essence of each individual. What were they like, these Wagners? Were they patient sitters, or did they fidget and whisper? The details are so carefully rendered—the father’s newspaper, the children’s dresses, even the little dog at the bottom of the scene, trying to get in on the act. There is a feeling for early American painting here, like a visual echo of painters like Ammi Phillips or even John Brewster, Jr., but Thompson brings something fresh, untutored, a little odd. Artists are always in conversation with one another across time. We’re all just trying to figure out how to see, and how to show what we see. We try, we fail, we try again. That's what it is all about!