Copenhagen, Denmark 1967

Ivan Albright made this watercolor painting, Copenhagen, Denmark, probably en plein air, maybe on a day trip in 1967. Look at how the strokes of color are put down, each one a note in a visual chord, building up the composition. You can sense Albright’s engagement with the act of seeing. The overall texture is fluid, thin washes layered to create depth and atmosphere. The paint application is direct and economical, yet suggestive of light and form. Notice the towers on the right, the way he uses a single stroke of red for the vertical, anchoring the building while the green defines its roof, simple, gestural, immediate. It’s like he’s channeling what he sees, not copying, but finding a visual language to interpret it. Albright’s expressionist approach to landscape reminds me of Lyonel Feininger, who also distilled architectural forms into elemental shapes and planes of color, it’s all about creating a mood, rather than a picture. It's like the painting is a conversation that leaves space for us to wander, question, and feel.