Shaker Built-In Cupboard 1935 - 1942

This watercolor painting of a Shaker Built-In Cupboard shows us how someone, maybe an apprentice, understood space and furniture. The evenness of tone gives a calm presence. I see the paint, thin and transparent, almost like a wash, letting the paper breathe beneath it. The evenness of tone gives a calm presence. Look closely, and you can see how the artist patiently built up the color in layers, defining the edges of each drawer with precision. The dark dots of the handles on the drawers punctuate the painting, drawing your eye down the whole composition. The way the light plays across the wood grain, especially on the top cupboard door, makes it feel as though there is an actual gleam of sunlight in the painting. It is like looking at a drawing by Agnes Martin; the simple composition elevates the ordinary to something contemplative. The painting reminds us that beauty can be found in the everyday, and in the meticulousness of craft.