Isabel Bishop Early Sketchbook c. 1928 - 1936

Isabel Bishop made this early sketchbook with ink, capturing little vignettes of everyday life. It’s pretty amazing because you get a real sense of her thinking. I can see her wandering around, quickly sketching people on the go—waiting, reading, chatting, just living their lives. There’s a great immediacy to these lines; each one feels essential, capturing a gesture or posture with incredible economy. Bishop’s clearly looking at the Ashcan School and artists like John Sloan, but she’s already got her own thing going on. Her lines are so alive, like she’s trying to catch the fleeting moments of human interaction. And it makes me wonder, what was she thinking as she drew these people? Was she struck by their ordinariness, or maybe by something special in their faces or the way they moved? Ultimately, drawing is about seeing and thinking, and Bishop’s sketchbook is a testament to the power of observation and the simple beauty of everyday life.