Syrup Pitcher c. 1937

Grace Halpin made this drawing of a Syrup Pitcher, no date is given, but it has a magical feel, a real delicacy of line and tone. The marks are so tentative, so careful, it’s like she’s coaxing the image into being. The whole thing is rendered in soft graphite, and Halpin really seems to be exploring the textures – the smooth metallic lid, the rough bark effect of the pitcher itself, all wound with these vines and leaves. Look at how she captures the light, how it glances off the rounded forms, suggesting a three-dimensional object on a flat plane. And those little grapes, each one a tiny globe of potential sweetness. I am always struck by how a pencil can create form through a balance of tone and a commitment to mark-making, you can see every one here, each is as important as the last. It reminds me of the work of someone like Charles Burchfield, that feeling for the magic in everyday objects. Ultimately, it’s the care and attention that Halpin brings to this humble object that elevates it, transforming it into something beautiful and strange.