Wagon Jack c. 1939

Mary Hansen, who lived a long life between 1855 and 1995, made this drawing of a Wagon Jack and I imagine her studio was filled with objects, tools, and perhaps memories of the past. The drawing, rendered in muted browns and grays, presents the wagon jack against a neutral background. You can almost feel the artist’s focus on the object, carefully observing its form and texture. I wonder if Hansen felt an affinity for this tool, maybe a connection to the labor and history it represents. The texture looks granular and tactile, like charcoal or soft graphite. You can see the light and shadow of its wooden form. I think of Giorgio Morandi, who spent his life devoted to painting the humble still lives of bottles. There’s a similar sense of quiet dedication in Hansen’s work. It makes me think about how artists, like Hansen and Morandi, engage in a visual conversation, drawn to the potential of everyday objects to express deeper meaning. It is a reminder that art is not just about grand gestures, but about the humble, focused act of looking, feeling, and representing.