Sea Bird Saga IX 1966

Wallace Bradstreet Putnam made this drawing, Sea Bird Saga IX, using what looks like charcoal to create a brooding scene. The marks are direct, smudged, and layered—you can feel the artist working and reworking the surface. I’m drawn to the physicality of the piece; the charcoal is velvety in some areas, almost like a shadow clinging to the paper, while in others, it's rough and scratchy. Notice the repeated horizontal lines that make up the water and the almost oppressive darkness of the sky. Then there’s the bird, a ghostly presence, drawn with simple, confident lines. It feels both vulnerable and resilient against the elements. This piece reminds me a little of some of the stark, tonal lithographs of Odilon Redon. Both artists share a similar interest in exploring the darker aspects of the human psyche through suggestive, rather than explicit, imagery. There is a real beauty here, but it’s a beauty tinged with melancholy.