What Do You See? The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Part II

Rothberg turned to Graves for his mystical qualities, which echoed several other works in his large Collection. This is not entirely surprising as Graves was one of a group of four artists from the Pacific Northwest known as The Mystics, who were celebrated for their “remarkable art of shimmering lines and symbolic forms,” and that “embody a mystical feeling toward life and the universe." 

Graves' mostly painted fauna, especially birds, which he rendered in a very spare, fluid way that recall his deep love for Asian Art. Here, the Young Gander stands proudly, with a hint of humor, uncanny in side-eye stare. Executed quickly with an economy of line and color, the bird almost stands as a totem, a symbol.