Alain Locke 1925

Winold Reiss made this portrait of Alain Locke with watercolor and crayon, probably in the 1920s. I love the way the white of the suit is just suggested, with minimal lines creating the form, but not filling it in. It’s like the idea of a suit, or a ghost of a suit. The drawing is so delicate, but then the hands are rendered with such detail and care, as is Locke’s face. I keep coming back to those hands, intertwined and holding something, maybe a ring? There’s a vulnerability in that gesture, but also a sense of self-possession. The weave of those fingers seems to be in tension with the sharp, thin strokes that define the suit he is wearing. Thinking about other artists, I’m reminded of Marsden Hartley, also making portraits at this time, but with a completely different approach to color and form. It shows you how many different ways there are to see and represent a person, a life, a moment in time.