Doll Bed c. 1937

Dana Bartlett made this watercolour, Doll Bed, at an unknown date. The light wash of colours gives the whole image a soft dreamy quality, like a half remembered childhood scene. I love how Bartlett hasn't overworked the paint. The rendering is very light and gives a sense of the artist working quickly, confidently, allowing the image to emerge organically. Look at how the ornate metalwork of the bed is conveyed with subtle, translucent layers. I like how the image has been cropped, so that the whole bed is not visible. It lends a slightly unsettling air to the piece, as if the bed is floating. The doll herself is also slightly strange; lying stiffly on the bed with her face in profile, she stares blankly upwards. For me, Bartlett’s work, with it’s slightly odd atmosphere, has echoes of the work of outsider artist Henry Darger. Like Darger, Bartlett creates an uncanny world of childhood, full of mystery.