Desk c. 1938

Dorothea Farrington rendered this watercolor and graphite "Desk" on paper. I can imagine Farrington hunched over her own desk, carefully studying the details of this piece of furniture, trying to capture its essence with graphite lines and layers of translucent color washes. The desk stands, a mute witness to countless hours of writing, thinking, and dreaming. Maybe she saw it as a symbol of order, intellect, or even domesticity. The drawers, those secret repositories of letters and keepsakes; I always wonder about the stories they could tell. Farrington's careful rendering invites us to appreciate the craftsmanship and design of a bygone era. I find myself pondering the relationship between observation and interpretation. How does an artist transform an object into a reflection of their own sensibility?