-School- still bank c. mid 20th century

This still bank was made by the U.S. Metal Toy Mfg. Co., and it’s like a little building block of memory, isn’t it? Look at the way the red and green are laid down, so flat and graphic, like a sign painter went to town on a child's idea of school. I can imagine the designers dreaming it up, sketching out these little scenes of kids going to school on cold days. The snow daubs seem like a kid’s fantasy—they probably thought, “What’s the most snow a roof can hold?” It’s this funny mix of design and wishful thinking. I bet those snowy patches felt so good when you picked them up. I love to think about the whole history of painting, it’s all about one artist building on another's ideas. Like you're building a collective dream!