Study for "Sentinel" 1959

This charcoal drawing, "Study for 'Sentinel'," was made in 1950 by Seymour Lipton. I imagine him standing at his easel, charcoal in hand, figuring out what this sentinel will look like. The lines are assertive but not overworked, a flurry of dark marks on the paper. There's a real sense of immediacy, as if he is thinking through the charcoal, trying to find the form within the marks. The sentinel emerges from the page, a kind of watchful guardian. I can really see the back-and-forth, the give-and-take of the making process. And of course, Lipton must have been looking at other artists while making this. He's in conversation with sculptors like Julio Gonzalez and painters like Picasso, all working on similar ideas about space and form. It's a reminder that art is a dialogue across time, artists inspiring one another.