Boom 1834 - 1906

Maria Vos made this drawing of a tree, sometime in the 19th century, using graphite pencil on paper. The choice of materials is significant. Graphite, a form of carbon, allows for a wide range of tonal variations, and the paper provides a receptive surface for capturing the delicate details of the tree’s branches and foliage. Pencil drawings are immediate and portable. Perhaps Vos made this study *en plein air*, training her eye to observe and record. But the graphite pencil itself speaks to a larger story. Graphite was mined and processed, then combined with wood, another harvested material. The pencil is an industrial product, emblematic of the increasing accessibility of art materials. The relative ease with which such drawings could be made perhaps democratized art making, in a way that older traditions of painting did not. Ultimately, “Boom” highlights how even seemingly simple sketches are deeply rooted in materials, labor, and broader social contexts.