Chair c. 1936

Howard Weld’s drawing of a chair, made in an unknown year, is a real study in contrasts. It’s brown on brown on brown, set against this creamy paper. I can imagine Weld's thinking here: he’s got this almost architectural approach, right? The chair is floating, deconstructed, its shadow self lurking nearby. The paint is thin, transparent, almost like a watercolor, which gives it a light, airy feel, but it also defines every detail of the ornamentation in the woodwork. You can almost feel the artist considering the physical object that he is studying and drawing, its surface, texture, and structure. In a way, Weld is in conversation with all those painters who make you really *see* the thing, the chair, and not just glance at it. It’s a kind of seeing that is about feeling, too, about understanding an object deeply. It makes the chair not just a thing, but a whole experience, a way of experiencing the world. And isn't that what painting is all about?