Brooding

One of America's great mystical painters, Graves was primarily self-taught, although he studied briefly with the like-minded artist mark Tobey. Living and working in the Pacific Northwest, the isolation from artistic centers such as New York or Paris allowed their work to develop largely uninfluenced by dominant trends. Graves and Tobey marked the beginnings of a revival of American abstract art in the 1940s, creating deeply felt, introspective imagery infused with haunting suggestions of emotionality and spirituality. Deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism and Asian mysticism, Graves' s study of Chinese and Japanese scroll paintings had an even more profound effect on his work than his studies with Tobey. Often using animals, particularly birds, to allude to human psychological states, Graves's work traces a journey through consciousness, which may evoke contemplation, pathos, or a spiritual awakening. In this case, "Brooding" seems to refer not only to the nesting hen's activity, but also to describe her moody expression. In this painting, Graves displayed his mastery of the brush technique of Asian ink painters, in which the simplest stroke of the brush eloquently conveys the maximum meaning. By moderating between wet, bleeding strokes and dry, scratchy marks, Graves added variety and visual meaning in the manner of Japanese master calligraphers.