Toaster c. 1940

Frank McEntee made this picture of a toaster sometime in his life, with paints, brushes, and a steady hand. What can we say about it? The image is spare, with a simple palette: warm browns and beiges articulate the solid toaster, set against an even warmer white field. The object sits still; a portrait of a toaster. I can imagine him thinking about his breakfast, the way he liked his toast to be cooked, and the quiet morning light. The texture is smooth, the paint thinly applied in what appears to be the service of representation. Yet the painting isn’t quite photographically real. The scene has been distilled, simplified, and made even more... toasty! I get the sense that the process of making was a form of inquiry for McEntee—a kind of meditation on the essence of toast. I see a relationship between what he is doing and the work of other painters who, through the act of painting, investigate and share a particular way of experiencing the world.