Pleading for the Oppressed 1936

Peggy Bacon made this lithographic print called 'Pleading for the Oppressed' with ink on paper. I love how Bacon uses the lithographic crayon to pull back the curtain on this group of rather unglamorous people. There is a nervous energy, a hurried mark-making, and a strong desire to capture a mood, like the feeling of entering a crowded, smoky room with a lot of old people in it. I see a room full of slightly irritated and impatient characters. I bet Bacon felt like that a lot, watching and sketching people, trying to capture the fleeting expressions and mannerisms that make each of us unique. She has a keen eye for the absurd, and she doesn’t shy away from showing us the less flattering sides of human nature, a little like Otto Dix or George Grosz. I love the way artists can be in dialogue with each other, across generations, finding inspiration and new ways of seeing. The way we look at paintings can change us, and maybe even make us more alive to the world.