Weather Vane Finial c. 1938

Maurice Blumenfeld made this drawing of a weathervane finial with graphite and watercolor. What strikes me is the way that the color and lines work together to give a sense of the object's patinated surface. It’s all about how the artwork captures the effects of weather and time. Look at the tail, how those curved lines overlap, like the feathers are individual pieces of metal. It almost looks like it could be an abstract sculpture, if you cropped it right. There's something very beautiful in the way that the artist is so interested in the surface of the thing, in the brown-green of the metal, and the texture of each little mark. The whole thing comes alive through these delicate marks. It reminds me of some of Charles Sheeler's industrial scenes, in the way it takes an everyday object and makes it something kind of grand. It's like Blumenfeld is saying, "Hey, look at this thing that's been out in the rain and sun, doing its job." It's simple, but there's something really compelling about it.