Lessing J. Rosenwald 1930

James McBey made this watercolor and charcoal portrait of Lessing J. Rosenwald in Philadelphia, December 1930. I love to imagine the artist making this, the build-up of layers, the dance between control and accident. He's laid down a wash of warm peaches and tans on the paper. Then look at these marks, confident strokes of charcoal, defining the contours of Rosenwald’s face and suit. McBey captures a likeness but also something more ephemeral—a sense of the sitter's inner life, or at least, a mood. These gray shadows! So good! Not literal, but felt. You get the sense that McBey and other artists are always talking to each other through time. Each artwork is an echo, a response, a continuation of this conversation. And now we, the viewers, get to join in, bringing our own experiences and interpretations to this ever-evolving dialogue.