Horse Head Hitching Post 1938

Alexander Anderson painted this 'Horse Head Hitching Post' using watercolor and graphite, probably in 1936. Look at the colors - a muted palette of browns and grays that gives it an aged, almost ghostly feel. It's like he's trying to capture not just the object, but its history, the feel of it worn by time. I can imagine Anderson, carefully mixing his watercolors, trying to get just the right shade to match the metal of the hitching post, thinking about the real thing. The way he's rendered the texture, it almost feels like you could reach out and touch the rough, weathered surface. He must have been thinking about the horses, and what it means to pause, to be tethered. It's a quiet, contemplative piece. It makes you think about the layers of meaning we project onto everyday objects.