Tray 1935 - 1942

Grace Halpin made this drawing of a tray, sometime between 1855 and 1995. It's all soft pencil and watercolor washes, a study for something perhaps. What strikes me is the way the artist gives weight to the fruit. It all seems to be resting on a surface, maybe a cutting board? The fruit looks plump and juicy, and the glass is nearly full of wine, or maybe water. There's a wonderful contrast in the black backdrop, which gives the fruit and the tray itself a sense of drama. It reminds me of Cézanne, who used to build up his forms with careful, deliberate brushstrokes. There's something similar going on here, a kind of slow, meditative process of observation and translation. It’s the intimacy of the process that comes across, as much as the image of the tray itself. And that’s the real beauty of it. What do you see?