Quaker Bonnet c. 1937

Hedwig Emanuel made this watercolour of a Quaker bonnet, and it’s like she was whispering secrets with her brush. The palette is hushed, almost monastic – tans and creams, laid down in gentle washes. You can almost feel the artist’s breath on the paper as she coaxes the form into being, stroke by careful stroke. I imagine her, peering intently, trying to capture not just the shape, but the very essence of this humble garment. There’s a quiet dignity to the piece, a reverence for the everyday. You know, painting something like this is an act of devotion. It's like Emanuel is inviting us to contemplate the beauty in simplicity, the sacred in the mundane. The thin paint gives the bonnet an ethereal quality, as if it’s floating in time, a testament to enduring values. It reminds me of the work of Agnes Martin and her celebration of the subtle, quiet mark.