Whiskey Glass 1937

Ralph Atkinson made this painting of a Whiskey Glass in 1931, with what looks like watercolor on paper. The glass sits there, solitary and crystalline, like a little architectural study. It's a muted color, and the octagonal shape gives it a modern feel, but it also has these curious, almost gothic arches running up the sides, which reminds me of windows in an old cathedral. I can imagine Atkinson, his hand steady, carefully building up the layers of color to capture the transparency of the glass. It's quiet, it’s simple, but it’s done with so much control, a real sense of seeing and feeling the object. The artist's focused vision reminds me of the still life paintings by Giorgio Morandi, who made hundreds of paintings of bottles. They're all different, but very similar. It makes you realize that artists can be in conversation with one another across time, and that painting is a great medium for expressing ideas.