Exhibit: Vladimir Tartakover

My favorite  paintings from the Vladimir Tartakover retrospective were his portraits of  African Americans.

Perhaps he paints figures better with a darker skin tone.

Perhaps he responds more to their character.

Whatever the reason -- these are strong and dramatic paintings of that subject most  famously handled by Kerry James Marshall

Here's one of the earliest paintings in the show - from 1983

His landscapes have a  gritty, tactile feeling.

Same thing with his cityscapes.  You can feel his struggle to grab and hold everything he can see.

The details are rough - but not clumsy.

Which could also be said of Van Gogh.

Who  also was less interested in pleasing the viewer or a market, than in coming to  grips with the world around him.