Hat Rack (Shaped Like Ox Yoke) c. 1939

Charlotte Angus created this watercolor of a hat rack shaped like an ox yoke, and it's such an unassuming image! There is something so quiet and unassuming about the careful rendering of each object. I can imagine Charlotte, brush in hand, patiently mixing colors to capture the specific hues of the wood and the shadows on the ox heads. I wonder if she thought about the original maker, or if she was even aware of the Indigenous context of the original object? The way the light falls across the yoke, the subtle gradations of tone in the ox heads—it’s all so thoughtfully observed. The texture of the paper peeks through, reminding us of the physical act of painting, the way the brush glides and sometimes catches on the surface. Like all painters, Charlotte belongs to a long, ongoing exchange of ideas. We all respond to art history in our own ways, learning from and building upon the work of those who came before us. There is always something new to discover, something to add to the conversation.