Candelabrum c. 1937

Curator: What a striking piece! This is "Candelabrum," a pencil drawing by Mildred Ford, created around 1937. It depicts a geometric, somewhat industrial-looking light fixture. What are your first impressions? Editor: It's very precise, almost architectural in its detailing. The severe angles and repetitive forms create a somber, yet strangely elegant mood. The use of pencil lends a delicate touch, in contrast to the robust structure. Curator: It's interesting that you pick up on the architectural feel. Ford was active during a time of great social and economic change. Art Deco and industrial design principles were shaping domestic spaces. Her geometric design certainly reflects those aesthetic influences. The austerity of the design, during the Depression Era, feels quite intentional. Editor: Yes, the intersecting lines create depth and weight. I find the smaller studies on the bottom half equally intriguing; they display a technical, almost schematic quality, which further underscores a sense of the industrial process behind the design. Did the candelabrum get built or remain a conceptual study, do we know? Curator: That’s what makes Ford’s work particularly interesting to me—she gives form to a desire to bring modernity and function together within the context of domestic objects, however grand! It gives me cause to wonder about the availability of new technologies to craft such lighting features for middle-class houses. The image seems to reflect societal aspirations rather than concrete realities. I'm not sure it was ever put into production; regardless, she manages to integrate aspiration into everyday living spaces. Editor: The way that the eye is guided through this geometrical formation makes you want to gaze at every detail. What could be deemed cold due to its lines it’s somehow softened with her artistic precision. An impressive drawing with thought put in place. Curator: Absolutely. For me, it's a reminder of how everyday objects reflect larger societal currents, hopes, and perhaps even some quiet resistance to hardship through thoughtful design. Editor: And, of course, how the simplest medium, pencil on paper, can convey those aspirations with such geometric elegance.