Untitled (P ! D) (verso)
probably 1930s
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
blue ink on light brown wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 22.86 x 36.83 cm (9 x 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of James Castle Collection and Archive
Accession Number
2011.63.1.b
Art Historical Context
James Castle’s “Untitled (P ! D) (verso)” is a modest yet intriguing drawing executed in blue ink on light brown wove paper, likely dating to the 1930s. Measuring roughly 9 by 14½ inches, the sheet’s intimate scale invites close looking, while the choice of wove paper—smooth and readily available—reflects Castle’s resourceful approach to everyday materials. The verso designation suggests the work is the reverse of another image or inscription, hinting at the artist’s habit of exploring both sides of a single sheet. The contrast between the cool blue ink and the warm paper tone creates a quiet...
About the Artist
James Castle
**James Castle: A Self-Taught Visionary of Rural America** James Charles Castle was born on September 25, 1899, on a remote farm in Garden Valley, Idaho, to Frank and Mary Castle, local postmasters and the parents of seven children, of whom he was the fifth. Profoundly deaf from birth, Castle attended the Gooding School for the Deaf and Blind from ages ten to fifteen but never mastered sign langu...