1939
graphite
paper
From the collection of Museum of Modern Art
Dominant colour
Untitled is a 1939 graphite by Joseph E. Yoakum, held at Museum of Modern Art.
This drawing shows three jagged rocks rising from choppy blue water. The waves are sketched with quick, wavy lines, and the rocks have rough, textured edges. Above, a bright yellow sun sits low in the sky against a pale pink horizon. The artist wrote the title at the top: *"a Rock in the Baltic Sea near Stockholm Sweden & Europe."* The rocks look almost like they’re made of layered paper or lace, with dark lines crisscrossing their surfaces. The title suggests this is a real place, but the style feels more like a sketch than a realistic scene. If you like this mix of rough textures and simple shapes, check out cross-hatching.
Joseph Elmer Yoakum was an American self-taught painter. He was of African-American and possibly of Native American–descent, and was known for his landscape paintings in the outsider art-style. He was age 76 when he…
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
