In this work on paper, two figures meet in a fluid, almost symmetrical composition. Their limbs intertwine, faces close, drawn with flowing, deliberate lines that feel more like gestures than outlines. The limited use of brown gouache adds a depth without disturbing the elegance of the scene. At first, the scene looks like the start or end of a tender embrace but the title, Hesitation, complicates this reading. Such an ambiguous title invites speculation and the emotional impact of the scene is deepened in what is left unresolved.

References: For information on the artist and her work see Bonnie Devine, Robert Houle, & Duke Redbird, The Drawings and Paintings of Daphne Odjig: A Retrospective Exhibition, exh. cat., (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2007); Daphne Odjig, Rosamond M. Vanderburgh, and Beth Southcott, A Paintbrush in My Hand: Daphne Odjig, (Toronto: Natural Heritage, 1992); Bob Boyer and Carol Podedworny, Odjig: The Art of Daphne Odjig 1960-2000, (Toronto: Key Porter, 2001; and Elizabeth McLuhan and Tom Hill, Norval Morrisseau and the Emergence of the Image Makers, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1984).