Statue of Liberty 1916

Rachael Robinson Elmer made this small, intimate linocut, 'Statue of Liberty' without a date using oil paint. It features these blocks of teal, ochre, and greyish green. I can imagine her hand carving into that linoleum, figuring out how to get the shapes just right. It’s not easy, you know, there’s no going back! I can feel Elmer’s struggle with this iconic symbol. I wonder, what does it mean to her? The steamship, and the smoke coming out of it, it's like the lifeblood of the city, right? The greens and blues are like water, sky, and freedom, but the browns of the statue feel heavy, grounded. Maybe she’s thinking about what that statue means to all the immigrants coming to America and the industrialization of America. Elmer was doing illustration as a job, but she also made these amazing landscapes with modern color. I imagine she was looking at other modernist painters like Matisse. Artists are constantly in conversation, aren’t they? Through time, we inspire each other, challenge each other. We keep painting alive.