The Brunette c. 1913

William Glackens made this painting of a woman in a teal jacket, The Brunette. The background and coat are made with these beautiful, light brushstrokes, like wisps of memory. Looking at it, I think of Glackens working quickly, trying to seize a moment of beauty before it disappears. The way he captures the light on her face with these delicate pinks, it's almost like he's falling in love with his subject as he paints her! I think it’s so interesting to see how artists look at other people, and what they see in them, how they lift them up into this idealized space. Painters are always looking at other painters, inspired by the way they apply paint to the surface, almost talking to each other across time. The conversation is ongoing, this back and forth of ideas about how to look, how to see, how to be.