Standing Together

Living in Mississippi, Willis created collages and experimented with painting and drawing on a variety of materials such as fabric, plywood, cardboard, Plexiglas, embroidery, and school tablets. His early works were often inspired by popular culture such as television, cartoons, billboards, and other mass-produced commercial media. He had been exposed to avant-garde art directly during World War II, when he served in France and Austria. This drawing is based on Picasso's La Vie, in the Cleveland Museum of Art. It depicts two huddled figures, one reaching out to a third. Although the third figure appears disapproving, they all stand together, as Willis's title suggests.