Brown Dog Charging, 1939-1942

After a lifetime on a plantation, former slave Bill Traylor moved to Montgomery, Alabama. There, from a doorstep on Monroe Street, he rendered starkly modernist images of lively animals, vibrant landscapes and active people. Dog is a spectacular, large-scale drawing that engages its surface. The animal radiates energy: he is rearing, tail up, teeth bared, and bounding towards the edge of the card.