Puppet - "Clown on a Tear" c. 1937

Verna Tallman made this watercolor and graphite drawing of a clown puppet without a known date. Isn’t it great? You can see Tallman figuring out how to construct the puppet—two full views and two heads, each with a slightly different expression. I imagine her sketching and making notes, then going back in with watercolor, layering delicate washes of gray and red. I love the zig-zag trim of the costume, the red and white stripes of the stockings, the jaunty angle of the clown’s shoes. It's all so playful, but there's a melancholy lurking beneath the surface. The clown’s tear isn’t the happy-go-lucky joy of a circus clown, but the more unsettling feeling of sadness beneath a painted smile, like an echo of Watteau’s lovesick Gilles or Picasso’s saltimbanques. We never know when artists work if their work will speak to someone else one day. I think that’s why we make art, to be in conversation with others.