Double Burden 1964

This is Philip Evergood's Double Burden, painted in 1964, and right away, the ochre and browns pull me in. I imagine Evergood smudging and layering, building up the weight of those figures, especially the weary woman carrying a child in a basket on her back. I feel for the artist here, because what’s it like to keep the painting open and raw, and still make a statement? It takes guts to smear that paint, to let the figures emerge out of a haze. Her gaze is heavy, almost accusatory, as if to say, "You see what I carry?" The texture is rich, almost muddy, a far cry from slick refinement, and it speaks volumes about the everyday burdens people carry. It’s a conversation with artists like Kathe Kollwitz and the Mexican muralists, all wrestling with how to make art about real life, about labor, about the weight of living. Ultimately, this painting is a testament to that ongoing artistic dialogue and the power of art to express both individual and collective experience.