Getting the Christmas Tree 1939

James E. Allen made this print called "Getting the Christmas Tree" using lithography. The blacks and whites feel very graphic and immediate, like the process of image-making itself is right there on the surface, not hidden at all. Look at the snow, how it's all these little dashes, almost like the paper is breathing. You can practically feel the cold and the crunch underfoot. Then there's that tree they're lugging, so heavy and real. Allen really knew how to make the ordinary feel epic. The way he uses these tiny marks all together reminds me a bit of Chuck Close, but with a folksy charm. It's like he's saying, "Hey, art is just a bunch of marks, but together they can make a whole world." This piece, like much of his work, celebrates everyday life with a real sense of humor and humanity. It suggests that the beauty of art lies in its ability to find magic in the mundane.