Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a gouache drawing by Lily Cushing. It dates from 1938 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Executed in 1938, this untitled gouache on board is attributed to Lily Dulany Emmet Cushing, an American artist active during the early twentieth century. Measuring a modest scale, the work resides within the permanent holdings of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and exemplifies Cushing’s engagement with urban subjects rendered in a direct, unlabored manner.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a residential street lined with parked automobiles and low-rise buildings. Facades appear in both muted tones and saturated hues, while bare trees interrupt the pavement. Rather than idealizing the scene, Cushing captures an unremarkable moment, suggesting the quiet rhythms of daily life in an American town or neighborhood.
Technique & Style
Cushing employs gouache in rapid, gestural strokes that preserve the immediacy of observation. Color is applied flatly, with minimal modeling or chiaroscuro, and edges remain soft, resisting precision. The result approximates a visual note, less finished study than spontaneous record, aligning with contemporaneous experiments in graphic economy.
History & Provenance
Created in 1938, the work entered the collection of The Museum of Modern Art at an undocumented date. Cushing’s professional archive, including correspondence and additional works, is preserved by the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, while further examples of her output are held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Context
During the late 1930s, American artists increasingly turned to vernacular subjects, often adopting streamlined techniques influenced by European modernism. Cushing’s approach reflects this shift, favoring directness over academic finish. The period’s economic constraints and social transformations also shaped an interest in ordinary urban environments as valid artistic motifs.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lily Dulany Emmet Cushing (1909–1969) was an American artist. Her work is included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Her personal papers are held by the…
