Deerskin Covered Chest c. 1942

Samuel Faigin’s watercolor drawing depicts a deerskin covered chest; it's an object rendered with an eye for both detail and texture. The furry hide, rendered in strokes of pink and brown, gives the chest a kind of wild, untamed quality. You can almost feel the rough texture of the deerskin, the way the hairs might catch on your fingers. Look at the bottom right hand corner, at the way the hide appears to be peeling back; this is where Faigin lets the lines fray a little, reveling in the irregularities and imperfections of the real thing. The metal accents, with their meticulous little dots, add a sense of weight and history to the piece. The drawing feels connected to the earthy, handmade qualities of outsider art. You can imagine someone like Bill Traylor admiring the drawing’s rough textures and hand-rendered details. It’s a reminder that art is often about taking a closer look at the world around us and finding beauty in unexpected places.