Graduation 1903

Harrison Fisher made this painting, Graduation, and it’s all about that feeling of moving on to the next phase. It feels like he’s showing us how artmaking is like navigating a process full of possibilities and fresh starts. The way the paint is handled here gives it a kind of dreamy, floaty quality. The dresses, especially, have this incredible texture, like they’re made of light and air, not just fabric. You can almost feel the brushstrokes building up those layers of white, with hints of pink and blue peeking through. See that little patch of green at the bottom, those quick, confident strokes? It's like a shorthand for a whole world of growth and change. The material handling isn’t labored or overworked, it's fresh and immediate. This reminds me of Sargent's portraits. Fisher has a similar knack for capturing a certain kind of elegance and poise with just a few well-placed strokes. But it's also got a looseness that lets you fill in the gaps with your imagination. Art is about embracing the space between things, letting ideas bounce off each other, and finding new connections.