Foot Scraper 1939

Ralph Atkinson made this drawing of a foot scraper at some point between 1855 and 1995 - talk about a long career! I’m picturing him carefully rendering each detail in graphite and watercolor, building up the textures and tones that bring this everyday object to life. It’s gray, but with a touch of yellow behind where the head would be, which is funny and subtle. I wonder what Atkinson was thinking when he made this? It’s so precise, so observant. Did he see something special in this foot scraper? Was it a comment on class or labor? Or was it just a beautiful object worthy of attention? It’s got a little figure sitting on top, like a kind of gargoyle. The way the light catches the curves of the metal, the shadows suggesting years of use. And yet there’s also something deeply personal in the rendering. It feels like Atkinson wasn't just recording an object but also imbuing it with his own sense of seeing. Artists like Atkinson remind us that everything can be a subject for art, and that the act of seeing is itself a creative act.