Highboy c. 1939

Frank Wenger made this Highboy without a known date, using watercolour, graphite, and coloured pencil on paper. It's a pretty little thing, isn't it? I like to imagine him making this, his hand moving slowly and methodically across the page. The brown of the wood is so rich, almost glowing, and the delicate green details add a touch of whimsy. Maybe he was thinking about his own furniture, or remembering the furniture in his childhood home. You know, all those familiar objects become imbued with memories and feelings. It reminds me a little bit of some folk art I've seen, or even some of those early American portraits where everything is just so carefully rendered. There's something deeply satisfying about the way Wenger captured the texture and form of the highboy. You can almost feel the smooth, polished surface of the wood. Artists like Wenger, they're not just copying what they see. They're transforming it, filtering it through their own unique perspective and creative vision. It's like they're having a conversation with the object, and with all the artists who came before them.