Master Art

Lynne Drexler’s work was always first and foremost about colour. The artist’s characteristic use of squarish patches of vibrant colour, applied with short brushstrokes, is seen to brilliant effect in this early watercolour, which is datable to c.1959. The present sheet also reflects something of the influence on Drexler of her training with Hans Hofmann, notably his particular emphasis on a rhythmic approach to composition and a vibrant colour palette. This devotion to colour was something that Drexler also admired in the work of such artists as Vincent van Gogh and Henri Matisse, with whom her works were often likened by later writers.

A number of stylistically comparable drawings in watercolour or gouache of the same date remain in the artist’s estate, while others are in private collections.