Trapper's Jacket c. 1937

Ellen Duncan rendered this watercolor of a "Trapper's Jacket" without a specified date. Notice how the garment's texture is meticulously captured through the artist’s delicate brushstrokes and subtle gradations of tone. The jacket’s form, presented frontally, dominates the composition, inviting us to consider its materiality. Duncan's use of neutral colors – primarily browns, grays, and creams – evokes a sense of age, wear, and the natural world. The garment hangs loosely, its edges slightly frayed, suggesting a life of utility. The jacket presents a nexus of cultural and historical meanings. As a signifier, the jacket transcends its utilitarian function, becoming a potent symbol of the frontier, of self-reliance, and perhaps of a vanishing way of life. Duncan captures the essence of a garment embodying both practical necessity and symbolic weight.