Chair c. 1939

Grace Thomas made this drawing of a chair in watercolor, probably sometime in the mid-20th century. It looks like a solid, no-nonsense kind of chair, the kind you might find in a Southwestern home, humble and handmade. I can imagine Grace, sitting in front of this very chair in her Santa Fe studio, carefully mixing her paints to match the warm wood tones. The chair, a mute object, becomes a vessel for the artist's gaze, a focal point through which she explores color, form, and the quiet beauty of the everyday. I like to think that while she looked at it, she may have reflected on her own work, her own place at the table of art history. There’s something so satisfying about the way she captured the texture of the seat – you can almost feel the slight give of the fabric. For me, Thomas reminds us of the enduring power of observation, and of how even the simplest subject can reveal hidden depths when seen through the eyes of a dedicated artist. It's like she's saying, "Look closer, there's magic everywhere."