Pintails Decoyed 1921

Frank Benson made this painting of Pintails Decoyed with oil on canvas, we think sometime in the early 20th century. What strikes me first is the approach to mark making, which is really open and direct, almost nonchalant. I can just feel the artist using a loaded brush and just letting the paint do its thing, kind of like improvisation. Look at the lower-right corner, where the reeds meet the water. See how Benson scumbled the paint, dragging the brush to create the texture of the rough grasses? It’s like he’s not trying to control every detail, but allowing the paint to suggest the forms. That little area to the right is like the whole painting in miniature – the dark of the reeds against the lighter water, the blurring between the two, the softness of the light. This reminds me a little of Homer, a slightly earlier painter who often captured similar hunting scenes – there’s the same sense of freedom and immediacy and I love to think of artists having a visual conversation across time.