Toaster c. 1940

Frank McEntee’s Toaster, a watercolor, takes a humble, everyday object and elevates it through careful observation. The palette is restrained, almost monochromatic, focusing on the subtle variations of brown and grey to describe the toaster’s metallic surface. It’s like McEntee is saying, "Hey, look at this toaster! Really look at it!" The way the light catches the twisted wire of the rack, or the gentle curve of the handle, brings a sculptural quality to the image, and you can see the artist really enjoyed thinking about the shapes, their relationship to each other, and the use of light and shadow to create depth and volume. The surface has a slight texture, allowing the white of the paper to show through, creating a sense of light and air around the object, almost as if it is floating in space. McEntee’s almost obsessive rendering of the toaster reminds me a little of the precision and care of 19th century realist painting. Both share an interest in the careful depiction of the everyday, and remind us to seek beauty and interest in the mundane. Ultimately, this toaster is not just a toaster, it's a meditation on form, light, and the poetry of the ordinary.