Chest c. 1937

Meyer Goldbaum made this drawing of a chest and it’s got me thinking about furniture as portraiture. The chest stands rigidly, stoically, its features carved into a wooden surface. What stories could it tell, standing in the corner of a room, absorbing the life around it? Imagine Goldbaum carefully rendering the details, the way the light catches on the rounded pulls of the drawers, maybe pausing, head cocked, considering the curves of the wood grain. It’s like the chest is posing for him. He's not just copying, he’s interpreting. He's imbuing it with a sense of personality. I'm reminded of other artists, like Magritte, who painted everyday objects in ways that make you see them anew. Goldbaum and Magritte invite us to consider that every object has a story to tell. It makes me want to go home and paint my own furniture, to see what kind of portraits emerge.