Cigar Store Indian c. 1937

This "Cigar Store Indian" drawing by Bernard Westmacott is rendered with a patient hand, graphite on paper, each line working to describe the object in light. It's like Westmacott’s showing us, in the making, the thing itself. I’m drawn to the way the shadow sits under the figure's jaw, a dark pool anchoring the three-dimensional form to the page, and the soft rendering of the feathers, giving the whole piece a gentle quality. The marks aren't trying to trick you; they’re just explaining. There is no sense of bravura, no flamboyant line. It reminds me of the work of Giorgio Morandi, the way he could spend a lifetime looking at the same few bottles, each time finding something new. And, in a way, that's what art is, right? An ongoing conversation, an endless exploration of the same old questions, just with slightly different accents.