The Trapper c. 1935

Harold Emerson Keeler made "The Trapper" using what looks like a woodblock, and I love the way it tells a story without being fussy. The colors are earthy but also kind of pop – a limited palette that creates depth. Look at the trapper's face, how it’s built up from simple shapes and lines. Each line seems so deliberate, like Keeler was figuring out the essence of the guy. The texture has this handmade quality, which I find really appealing. This connects it, for me, to the work of someone like Milton Avery, who was also all about simplifying forms but keeping things warm and human. It’s not trying to be slick; it's more about the feeling of a moment, and maybe that’s the whole point of art anyway, not to nail things down but to keep them moving.