Doll's Dress c. 1938

Lillian Causey made this watercolor of a doll's dress, and it's like peeking into a world of make-believe. There’s something so charming about the way the watercolor flows across the page, giving the dress a soft, almost ethereal quality. The palette is very limited, but the artist still achieves a feeling of depth. Looking closely, you can see these delicate lines and washes, how they build up to create the folds and textures of the fabric, it’s like she’s tracing the contours of a dream. The unfinished sketch of the dress in the background reinforces this sense of process. It reminds me of some of Fairfield Porter's paintings, that same quiet attention to the beauty of everyday life, and that same sense of the painting as an ongoing conversation. Ultimately, this little watercolor is a reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places, and that sometimes the simplest things can be the most profound.