New Mexico Graveyard c. 1952

Veronica Helfensteller made this graphite on paper drawing of a New Mexico graveyard, but we don’t know exactly when. You can feel the artist’s hand moving across the paper, as if she is conjuring the scene from memory or imagination, rather than directly copying what she sees. The crosses lean and tilt, the landscape rolls, and the whole scene has a kind of gentle melancholy. I can imagine her wanting to capture a specific light or atmosphere, searching for the right balance between detail and overall effect. It feels very intuitive. There’s a lot of shading, and she varies the pressure and angle of her pencil to create texture and depth. Look at the way the lines thicken and darken to define the foreground, giving weight to the crosses and gravestones. The artist has a real sympathy for the subject matter, bringing it into focus with precision and care. It reminds me of other artists working in the American Southwest, like Agnes Martin, who found a unique visual language to capture the spirit of the landscape. Artists are always inspiring each other, and pushing the conversation onward.