Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a graphite drawing by Joseph E. Yoakum. It dates from 1939 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Untitled is a drawing by Joseph E. Yoakum, created around 1939, and is part of The Museum of Modern Art's collection.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing depicts three jagged rocks emerging from turbulent blue water, with a bright yellow sun low in the sky against a pale pink horizon. The title, 'a Rock in the Baltic Sea near Stockholm Sweden & Europe,' suggests a real location, but the representation is stylized rather than realistic.
Technique & Style
The work combines carbon transfer, black ballpoint pen, and colored pencil on paper, featuring rough, textured edges and dark lines crisscrossing the rocks' surfaces. The wavy lines used for the water and the layered appearance of the rocks contribute to the drawing's stylized effect.
Artist & collection
Artist
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…
