A couple of final watercolors by Adelaide Lawson Gaylor (1889-1986) today, which I purchased at Brimfield from a dealer in my neck of the woods, who acquired them from a one time neighbor of Lawson and her artist husband Wood Gaylor (1883-1957), on Long Island. Lawson did a series of sketches and paintings of modern dancers, which is certainly the case here--and I love the humor in this one, with the cocked head of the dancer at right situated near dead center of the sketch, turned directly to confront the viewer in a rather absurdist feeling, but also apt, way, and I love the way the standing dancer seems to be watching him, too.
Lots out there about her and her work, including auction records. From Wikipedia: "When Lawson was 93 a critic [Phyllis Braff writing for the NY Times; "An Adventurous Landscapist at 93"] summarized her life's work by describing the particular "vivacity, energy and dynamism" of her modernist style which set her apart from other artists and showed her uniquely American outlook. The critic described Lawson's method as "abstracting rhythms, simplifying descriptions, flattening, generalizing color, eliminating shadow and building an emphatic surface harmony between forms." Noting Lawson's exuberance and spontaneity, she wrote: "Occasionally viewers will associate the weightlessness of form with fantasy, innocence or naïveté. The intention, however, is to emphasize the power of direct sensation." Four years later Lawson's obituary added to this overview that she and her husband had "spearheaded the modernist movement in the early years of this century." [NYTimes obit, 1986].
10 5/8" x 8 3/8", very good condition, c. 1930s-40s.
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