Day Bed c. 1936

B. Holst-Grubbe made this watercolor of a day bed. While we don't have a date for this piece, Holst-Grubbe was working at a time when design and industry were rapidly changing, and when ideas around domestic space were evolving. Day beds like this one were not just furniture; they were statements about leisure and status. Who got to recline and for how long? What did that say about their position in society? And how did this compare to those who spent their days in labor? A piece like this makes me consider the luxury of rest, and who has access to it. Holst-Grubbe's work invites us to think about the stories that objects tell, not just about design, but about the lives and social structures that they reflect. It makes me think, what would it mean to radically redistribute leisure?