Tieback c. 1939

Helen Bronson made this 'Tieback' using watercolour. Look closely, and you can see a real tenderness in her approach. The strokes are soft, the palette restrained. It's not about perfection but about the quiet joy of observation. The surface feels almost like skin, doesn't it? The thin washes of watercolor create a sense of translucency, especially in the bulbous form at the top. Notice how the red softly transitions into yellow. Bronson coaxes the light from the paper. The texture is so subtle, barely there, which makes the object seem to float. It's a testament to her skill. I'm reminded of the domestic still lives of Giorgio Morandi. Like him, Bronson finds beauty in the everyday. There's something about this simple object, rendered with such care, that feels deeply human. It invites us to slow down and appreciate the world around us, one tieback at a time.