The Reaper 1938

Eileen Agar made 'The Reaper' as a collage on paper. It’s a piece that feels like a playful experiment with form and texture. There’s this fantastic contrast between the flatness of the painted or drawn elements and the real, dimensional leaf smack-dab in the center. Agar's mark-making seems almost intuitive, like she's feeling her way through the composition. You can see it in the confident brushstrokes and the way she balances the abstract shapes. The reddish-browns, blacks, and yellows create a warm, earthy palette, which contrasts with the stark white background and gives the piece a grounded, almost tactile quality. Focus on that central leaf—it's got this incredible crinkled surface and the way it casts a shadow gives the piece depth. It reminds me a bit of Kurt Schwitters' collages, which used found objects to create surreal and poetic compositions. Ultimately, 'The Reaper' feels like a celebration of the unexpected, and reminds us that art is as much about the process of discovery as it is about the final product.