Ship's Sternpiece c. 1939

Albert Ryder made this Ship’s Sternpiece in watercolor, and it's a knockout. I love how Ryder’s approach to color here feels like a painter thinking through a process. The material quality is something else. Look at the way he renders the wood grain of the figure: it’s thick and yet so transparent. The red of the shawl is so vibrant, such a contrast. It’s almost as if he’s painting light itself. See that small triangle on the figure’s lapel? It's just a dab of white, but it makes the whole thing sing, gives it dimension and depth. It’s funny, I'm reminded of Marsden Hartley, who also used bold colors and simplified forms to capture the essence of a subject. To me this piece shows that art is never really finished, just abandoned for the time being, until the next artist comes along to pick up the thread.