Greiner Doll "Minerva" c. 1937

Rex Bush painted this portrait of a Greiner Doll, "Minerva", using watercolor. It's all about softness and control, not your typical riot of color. The painting seems to have been built up layer by layer, with delicate marks, revealing Bush's process. The color palette is really subdued, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. I’m drawn to the little details, like the tiny cross and the laced trim at the bottom of her drawers. The texture is so smooth, the colors blend so softly it almost appears airbrushed. Look at how the pinks and browns are used in the face and the arms, Bush coaxes emotion from a muted palette, conveying a sense of childhood nostalgia and tenderness. It reminds me of other early twentieth-century American painters like Edward Hopper who found beauty in simplicity and the everyday. Art is a conversation, after all, where meanings are always in flux.