Silver Salver c. 1936

Clayton Braun made this drawing of a silver salver, but we don't know exactly when. I imagine him hunched over the paper, squinting and making tiny precise marks. The drawing has a ghostly quality, not quite there, as if the object only exists in the realm of potential. The details are quite interesting. The surface undulates with floral ornament. The central coat-of-arms is crowded and has an almost surreal quality, like a heraldic dream. And the shading gives it the illusion of depth, but it remains on the surface. Looking at it, I wonder what Braun thought about the difference between the drawing and the object. Maybe he felt like he was only capturing a shadow of it? Did he wish he could reach through the paper and grasp the real thing? I like to think of artists as engaged in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. We keep the dialogue of art alive.