Chair 1935 - 1942

Thomas J. Eliot made this drawing of a chair, in an unknown medium. It's an interesting rendering, one that looks like it's got a good measure of both intention and accident to it. The color palette here is wonderfully earthy; the dark teal of the seat cushion jumps out from the warm brown of the wood, which looks like it could be really rough. I want to know what kind of wood that is. You can almost feel the splintery texture of the chair through the watercolor rendering. It's a tactile experience, even though it's just a drawing. I’m intrigued by the way that the colour has been applied in thin washes, to suggest both the solidity of the object, but also the fall of light across its surface. It looks like he was looking very closely at the thing, but also trusting his instinct as to how to mark make. This approach reminds me a little of Charles Burchfield, who elevated the everyday to the visionary. The way Eliot embraces the imperfect, the almost clumsy, is a reminder that art isn't about perfection, it's about seeing and feeling.