Horse Head Hitching Post c. 1936

This is C.H. Hastings’s Horse Head Hitching Post, made with graphite and watercolor wash on paper. Look at how Hastings renders the texture of the horse’s head. See how the layered washes create depth, those darks and lights pulling us in? You can almost feel the cool, smooth surface of the metal. The way the graphite outlines the form, it’s so deliberate and careful. Then the loose washes inside give it this living, breathing quality. The shading around the base anchors it, makes it feel solid, like it’s been standing there for ages, a silent guardian. It reminds me of some of Guston’s later works, that way he found a cartoonish line, that's also so serious. Art's like a conversation, you know? Ideas keep bouncing around, artists picking up where others leave off. Hastings's hitching post isn't just a picture of a horse, it’s a question, a feeling, an opening. And that's what keeps us looking, keeps us thinking.