Sheraton Wall Table c. 1937

This is a drawing of a Sheraton Wall Table by Ernest A. Towers, Jr. Imagine Towers at his drafting table, sleeves rolled up, squinting at the real thing, then down at the blank page. I love the way he's translated the wood grain into soft, flowing strokes of color. See how the curves of the tabletop and the delicate fluting of the legs are captured with such care? You can feel the hand of the craftsman, both the furniture maker, and Towers himself. What was he thinking as he rendered this object? Was it pure documentation, or was there a little bit of love in those lines? Perhaps he was musing on its function, maybe picturing it in some grand room, holding precious objects. In the end, all art is an act of translation and an exchange of ideas. Towers helps us see the wall table with new eyes, appreciate its form, its history, and its place in our shared visual language.