Henry's Acrobats c. 1935 - 1943

Claire Mahl Moore made this print, Henry’s Acrobats, with charcoal and pencil. I love the powdery, soft blacks and greys, and the way she hasn’t tried to smooth them out or blend them perfectly. You can see the marks of her hand, the back-and-forth of the pencil, the smudging of the charcoal. I bet she started with a rough sketch, then built up the tones gradually, adding more and more detail as she went. It's cool that she's not afraid to leave some areas unfinished, leaving it to our imaginations. There’s a surreal feeling here, like a dream. Acrobats are performing strange feats, and everything is just a bit off-kilter. But it's not sloppy or accidental, just a beautiful, haunting, and weirdly expressive way of drawing figures. For me, this print is a reminder that drawing can be a way to explore the unexpected, and that imperfection can be just as powerful as precision.