Salem Dolls 1935 - 1942

Beverly Chichester made this painting of dolls from Salem, and they just sit there, all brown, with their little carved glyphs. It makes you wonder, what was Beverly thinking? Was she just trying to show us these dolls, or was she trying to talk about something deeper? I mean, look at those forms. So simple, yet so strange. It's almost like she's asking us to look beyond the surface, to see the mystery and the hidden stories within. And the colour – all browns – maybe a bit boring, but somehow it works. You feel how they might be made of old wood or stone. But then, I start to think about other artists, like Agnes Martin, who did something similar in their own way. You realize that artists are always riffing off each other, building on each other's ideas. It's like a big conversation that's been going on forever. And that's kind of cool, right? It makes you feel like you're part of something bigger than yourself.