“String Quartette?? Woodblock Etching circa 1940 by Olin Herman Travis (Texas, 1

Frame measures 19x13” image measures 15.5x8.5”
In this work, Travis created a visual crescendo of multi-layered iconography. Neath the light of a full moon, a string quartet plays together on a lake covered in thin ice. Violinist I plays at a near frenetic pace and glides seamlessly across the ice. Unable to keep pace, violinist II has fallen headfirst into the ice. Perched in the bow of a gnarled tree, the violist creates moody and melodic notes. A turkey vulture roosts near him visually echoing his form. At the base of the tree, the cellist is seated and has lost himself in the music. This rare painting exhibits Travis’s stylized figures and links this oeuvre of his work to American and Texas Regionalism movements. An important artist and teacher Travis’s influence was significant in the Dallas Nine group of artists and beyond.
Date Period: 1940