Lotus, Growing

The inspiration for Grace Rhoades Dean’s crowded slice of pond life could have been the wallpapers of the British Arts and Crafts scion William Morris. Just as Morris was inspired by flowers near his house, Dean may have seen these yellow lotuses growing in her native Ohio. She simplified her shapes and used just three colors: brown, yellow, and blue-green. The light blue-green came last. But rather than confining this color to the tops of the floppy leaves, Dean printed it over the whole scene—all except on the six lotus flowers, which rise above the haze to find some noontime sun.