Andiron (George Washington) c. 1937

Josephine Lindley made this painting of an andiron, probably in the mid-twentieth century, with watercolor and graphite on paper. Look at the way she's working with the color: it’s a limited palette of browns, greys, and creams, all these earth tones that give the piece a kind of grounded, solid feel. You can see it's almost like she's feeling her way through the subject, letting the process guide her. The materiality of the work feels really important. The washes of watercolor create depth and texture, like the patina of old metal. Then these graphite lines, these ghostly afterimages around the central figure, emphasize the objecthood of the thing. See the way Lindley renders the surface? It’s not just flat color but layers of marks, maybe even scrubbing the paper. It's as if the painting is excavating the history of the object itself. Lindley’s approach reminds me a bit of Forrest Bess, another artist who embraced unconventional forms and subjects. Ultimately, it is a wonderful example of how art can find profound meaning in the everyday, and how the act of seeing can be a form of deep reflection.