Dining Table c. 1936

Editor: Here we have Harry Eisman’s "Dining Table," a watercolor and coloured-pencil drawing from around 1936. The table is expandable and it fills up the image space. It makes me wonder what sort of gathering it was designed for. What are your thoughts on the role of design like this at the time? Curator: This drawing provides insight into the intersection of design, social class, and domestic life during the mid-1930s. The expandable table reflects a desire for both formality and adaptability within the home. Think about who could afford such a piece during the Depression era. Do you think its display signifies more than just its utility? Editor: That's a good question, and I guess so. The materials do look kind of fancy. Maybe the family would have expanded it only on special occasions? Curator: Exactly. It also speaks to the evolving role of the home in the public imagination. As consumer culture gained momentum, owning such furniture became a status symbol, projecting an image of success and refined taste. The drawing itself – the choice to depict it so plainly, almost diagrammatically, begs the question of audience. Was it intended as a sales tool or something else? Editor: It seems too artful to just be a technical drawing. I’m just speculating here, but could it have been a record of a design that wasn't actually feasible or affordable for mass production during that period? Curator: Precisely! It invites us to think about art and design's relationship with industrial constraints. So what do you make of it now, knowing a bit more of the background? Editor: I see it as a symbol of aspirational living. Something that maybe not everyone had access to at the time. Curator: Indeed, a window into the material aspirations of a specific time and place.