Bag c. 1936

William High created this watercolor of a bag; it's a really interesting object, isn't it? The careful rendering has this quality of loving attention. I can imagine the artist’s process, building up these tiny, delicate strokes, one by one. He's focused on the texture and the tiny details that make up each bag. There's this really beautiful geometry in the pattern of the beadwork that he patiently captures. I wonder what it was like for High to create this; it could be kind of meditative, right? It reminds me that painting can be a process of discovery, both for the artist and for the viewer. It's like a conversation across time, where artists are constantly responding to and building upon the ideas of those who came before. And just like any conversation, it's full of uncertainty and ambiguity, and that's what makes it so exciting!