Shaker Cedar Basket 1935 - 1942

Edward D. Williams made this Shaker Cedar Basket, most likely in the late 20th century, with what looks like graphite and watercolor on paper. It's a pretty straightforward rendering, but the care in the mark-making is what makes it. Look closely, and you can see how the grain of the wood is described with hundreds of tiny, parallel marks, a process of accretion. The color is fairly muted, ochres and browns. These give the impression of the humble, practical beauty of this vessel. There's something about the regularity of the marks, and the symmetry of the object, that’s almost like Agnes Martin's grids. Both artists share this quiet, meditative repetition. It gives the work a kind of stillness, a calm that invites contemplation. Like all good art, this drawing shows us that even the most ordinary things, like a cedar basket, can be a source of beauty and meaning.