Preserving Jar c. 1938

Clyde L. Cheney painted this 'Preserving Jar' with muted browns and tans that give it a warm glow. I imagine Cheney in front of this jar, turning it slowly to the light, trying to understand its volume and purpose. There’s something so humble about painting such an everyday object. It makes me think about Giorgio Morandi and his still lifes, or even some of those Shaker artists who elevated the everyday through careful rendering. The paint is thin, almost watery, allowing the paper’s surface to breathe, lending the jar an ethereal, almost dreamlike quality. It has the presence of something ancient, unearthed, like it's holding secrets. I bet Cheney wasn't trying to create something groundbreaking, but instead engaging in a quiet conversation with his subject, with art history, and with the act of seeing itself. That's what painting is all about: one artist speaking to another across time.