Mount Maud 1938

Rita Angus made "Mount Maud" in New Zealand using watercolors, and what strikes me is how she’s used this medium to create a landscape that feels both real and dreamlike. There's something about how Angus applies the paint – thinly, in deliberate, almost geometric shapes – that suggests control but also a sense of letting go. Look at the foreground; the ochre and brown tones blend to create these rolling hills, and the tiny trees are dotted around, punctuating the land. It’s like she's building up layers of atmosphere, creating this vast space with these subtle tonal variations. Then, your eye is drawn upwards to the peaks, rendered in cool blues and whites. Angus has this in common with someone like Agnes Martin – this interest in nature, but also in geometry and form. They both use color and line to evoke emotion. Ultimately, it's a vision that invites us to wander, to ponder, and to find our own meanings in the hills and valleys of the canvas.