This in a World as Old c. 1936 - 1938

Edgar Britton made this drawing, called "This in a World as Old," sometime in the 20th century, probably with charcoal or graphite. Look at the hatching and the way the marks build up into light and shade – it’s as though Britton is feeling his way into the form, slowly coaxing it out of the paper. I wonder what Britton was thinking as he was drawing this close family embrace. There is an intimacy in the image, of course, but also a sense of heaviness, the world weighing down on the figures, on the mother, especially. The criss-crossing lines which define their forms are like the warp and weft of a textile: a complex, supportive structure that carries and sustains. The image reminds me of the drawings of Kathe Kollwitz. Both artists had a strong social conscience, using art to convey the emotional realities of everyday life. Both artists explore feelings of compassion and solidarity but also the weight of the world. These images are like a conversation across time, in which the artists build on each other’s creativity. It's a reminder of how artists are in constant dialogue with each other.