Bank of Industry c. 1938

William O. Fletcher’s watercolor, "Bank of Industry" from sometime in the twentieth century, presents a technical drawing of a cast metal object. It's like a patent design, showing multiple views to capture all the details. I love how the objectness of the original bank contrasts with its depiction in a wispy, delicate, and light medium. It’s almost like Fletcher is reinventing the object through painting, softening the hard industrial lines. I can imagine him studying the object, turning it over and over in his hands, trying to figure out the best way to capture its essence on paper. The light watercolor gives it a ghostly quality. These patent drawings are so different from what we usually think of when we hear the word "art." Yet, in its own way, it invites us to see the world differently. We learn to notice the beauty and complexity in the everyday, even in something as seemingly mundane as a cast metal money bank.