WILLIAM HAWKINS (1895-1990)

William Hawkins painted graphic, large-scale images depicting animals, architecture, religious scenes and well-known events. Here, Hawkin’s bold, dramatic depiction of a home relies on the use of a strong and restrained color palette which creates a sense of great significance for the central building. The house takes up the majority of the field and Hawkins conveys the variety of construction materials through his brushstrokes, depicting layered brick chimneys at either end of the wood-beamed home. Its scale, detail and place makes the home the work’s obvious focal point, while the surrounding elements allow for an understanding of its landscape. Two smaller structures, perhaps sheds, anchor the foreground, while a larger one, maybe a coop, stands on short legs to the right of the house. A birdhouse sits atop a tall narrow stand to the left. Although reductive in form, the relationship of each element communicates an intimate understanding of this place which Hawkins titled Old Home.