Study for "The Well"

Art Historical Context

Morton Schamberg’sStudy for “The Well”* (ca. 1916) offers a glimpse into the working methods of an early American modernist. Created during a period when artists were exploring new approaches to form and subject matter, this small graphite drawing on paper measures just over five inches square. As a preparatory work, it reveals the artist’s process of refining ideas before committing them to a larger composition, capturing the quiet intensity of observation. Schamberg, active in Philadelphia and New York circles, was among the first U.S. artists to engage with European avant-garde ideas while developing a distinctly American voice. Rendered in delicate graphite, the drawing’s intimate scale encourages close looking, highlighting the medium’s ability to convey subtle tonal shifts and precise lines. Its presence in the Metropolitan Museum’s Modern and Contemporary Art department underscores its role in documenting the emergence of modernism in the United States. Acquired through the Bertram F. and Susie Brummer Foundation gift in 1968, the work invites viewers to consider how even the smallest studies contribute to our understanding of artistic innovation in the early twentieth century.