Silver Sugar Urn c. 1940

E.J. Gilsleider made this drawing of a silver sugar urn with pencil and watercolor. I'm imagining that Gilsleider, born in 1855, was really interested in how light and color could bring a metal object to life on paper. The surface is smooth, but the shading gives it a kind of quiet intensity. I can see how Gilsleider used the pencil to create soft, blended shadows that give the urn its three-dimensional form. The delicate touch and subtle color choices remind me of Whistler's tonalist landscapes. I can imagine Gilsleider thinking hard about how to make something flat look like it could reflect light. It's cool how artists like Gilsleider and Whistler were in a visual conversation, inspiring each other to see the world in new ways. They teach us that painting isn't just about copying what's there but embracing the challenge of showing how we experience it.