Table Top 1955

John Bratby’s ‘Table Top,’ presents us with a domestic scene rendered in thick, expressive brushstrokes. Bratby emerged as an artist in post-war Britain, a period marked by austerity, and the dismantling of the British Empire. As a member of the Kitchen Sink School, Bratby turned away from the heroic or the beautiful to focus on everyday life. In ‘Table Top’ we see bottles, crockery, and food stuffs, items that speak to the realities of working-class existence. The table, laden with goods, might reflect a move away from wartime rationing, but the jumble and the muted palette could equally hint at the anxieties of a society in transition. Bratby once said that he sought to capture “the poetry of ordinary things.” Here, the intimate setting and the seemingly mundane subject matter invite us to reflect on the beauty and complexity inherent in the quotidian. ‘Table Top’ offers a snapshot of a particular time and place, but it also speaks to the universal experience of domesticity and the stories objects can tell.