Hold Everything 1949

Gil Elvgren probably made this with oils, and maybe a few varnishes to get that slick look. Just look at those little dogs, and the way the woman is smiling as she holds that wriggling puppy! It feels like an echo from another time, an era of crisp lines and clear subjects. Elvgren’s known for these pin-up style paintings, where everything's a bit glossy. There's a way the paint handles the light, especially on her dress—it’s smooth, almost like it's been glazed. I wonder, when Elvgren was making this, if he felt a kinship with other painters? Maybe Norman Rockwell, who told similar stories with paint, or even the great masters of the Renaissance, thinking about form and light. Each painting is a gesture, one artist responding to another across time. It’s an ongoing conversation!