Chest for Clothing or Blankets c. 1937

Majel G. Claflin made this watercolor of a chest for clothing or blankets, we don't know when exactly, but it has the feel of an artist really looking. I love the all-over turquoise color, which flattens the image, creating a tension between the object and the picture. I can imagine Claflin carefully mixing the paint, testing the consistency and opacity on the paper, trying to capture the light. I can also imagine how she might be thinking about Taos, where the work was created. The decorative patterns on the chest suggest a vernacular style that she's taking notes on. There's a kind of awkwardness that comes with painting, an honest attempt to figure something out. Like Fairfield Porter said, "All good painting seems to me to be very natural: that is, as natural as someone talking." This piece feels like it's in conversation with folk art as well as the modernist painters of the time, each informing the other. It’s a reminder that painting, like all art forms, is a continuous exchange, inspiring new ways of seeing and creating.