Lockwood Painted Mirror 1935 - 1942

Majel G. Claflin painted this mirror, sometime before 1941. You can tell she loved process and was really unafraid to let her hand be seen, there's so much joy in these simple shapes. I adore the way she’s built up the surface with these playful motifs. Look at the circular forms in each corner, painted with a casual yet deliberate touch. The varying densities of green within those circles, the way the grey paint just barely covers the surface – it’s not about perfection; it’s about the act of making. Those teardrop shapes, echoed throughout, add a rhythmic quality, like a visual song. It's giving me strong folk art vibes, but the boldness of the composition also reminds me of some of my favourite artists from the early 20th century, like Marsden Hartley. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if it’s folk art or not. What matters is that we can see Claflin finding her own voice in paint, with a wink and a nudge.