Captain Joseph Medill Patterson 1964

Ivan Albright made this unflinching portrait of Captain Joseph Medill Patterson with oil on canvas, and it's something else. The way Albright builds up the surface is incredible. It's like he's not just painting a face, but mapping the terrain of a life lived. Look at the detail around the eyes and mouth; it's obsessive, almost forensic. You can practically feel the texture of the skin. The colors are muted, earthy, but there's this strange luminosity, like the painting is lit from within. Take a look at the hands, clasped tightly. There’s a mix of power and vulnerability there, a sense of someone who’s weathered a lot. Albright’s commitment to detail reminds me of Holbein, but with a gothic twist. Both artists share an interest in the visceral, and in our attempts to capture something of life's experience through paint. Ultimately, Albright reminds us that art doesn't have to be pretty to be profound.