Willa Cather Sky

With a prolific career spanning more than fifty years, Jane Wilson turned to colorful, luminous landscapes later in her career, seeming to channel the influence of Color Field painting of the 1960s; Willa Cather Sky dates to this period. While its title references a great American writer, the composition veers towards the abstract, dominated by a sophisticated fusion of color and layered paint. The work suggests a landscape through an understated horizon line in the lower portion, though it remains visually ambiguous. The thick bands of color create an almost washy surface, while the texture of the canvas remains visible. Willa Cather Sky is ultimately as much a landscape as a study in the possibilities of color juxtapositions and paint application.