Figures in a Landscape 1918 - 1920

Frances Gearhart made this color woodcut print, "Figures in a Landscape," and the way she's layering those colors, it must have been a real dance in the studio, a mix of planning and just letting the ink do its thing. I can imagine Gearhart, maybe out in the California landscape somewhere, just sketching and feeling the light. The way she stacks those clouds, it's almost like she's building a world right there, block by block. Looking at this print, I think about the German Expressionists and their woodcuts. There’s that same sense of simplification. Each line and color feels essential. The texture in the sky is amazing. There's something about the quiet of this scene. The figures, the little house, the stream--it all invites a sense of contemplation. In a way, Gearhart’s print feels like a conversation across time, each artist borrowing and adding to the mix. What a sweet print!