Study for -Stallion and Jack Fighting- c. 1932 - 1943

John Steuart Curry made this drawing, a study for -Stallion and Jack Fighting-, with graphite on paper. Look at the energy in these marks! You can see how the artist is thinking through the motion, the struggle, making and remaking the lines, like a dance on paper. The texture comes from the sheer layering of graphite, the way Curry has built up tone and volume by hatching and cross-hatching, creating this dense, almost sculptural effect. See how the dark, smudged graphite around the horses' hooves gives a sense of the dust and churn of the fight. It's raw and immediate. The farmer with the pitchfork seems like an afterthought! You might compare this to some of George Bellows' boxing scenes, where a similar dynamism and immediacy is conveyed through expressive mark-making. But Curry's got a more down-home, midwestern feel, doesn't he? It all feels honest, like he is figuring it out as he goes, allowing for multiple readings and a beautiful sense of ambiguity.