Grain Chest c. 1937

Editor: This watercolor drawing from 1937, called "Grain Chest," is by Majel G. Claflin. The details on the wood grain are really striking. What stands out to you about this seemingly simple depiction of a chest? Curator: The date is important, as we're looking at a product of the Great Depression. Consider the WPA, the Works Progress Administration, which employed artists to document American life. Objects like this grain chest, though mundane, become important records of material culture. Editor: So you see it as a documentation of a particular moment in American history? Curator: Exactly! It's not just a pretty picture of furniture. The artist, consciously or unconsciously, participates in constructing a visual record that would likely support some particular representation of an austere and humble life. The simplicity of the chest speaks volumes about the values placed on self-sufficiency during that era. Editor: The style also seems so…unembellished, practical even. Curator: Indeed. How might this contrast to art made during times of economic prosperity, you think? Could art consumption and production potentially be more extravagant at these times, focusing less on recording everyday objects? Editor: I see your point. Maybe that is also related to a certain construction of art and imagery by institutions, as they shape production through economic influence or grants and funding. I suppose that the piece represents something bigger, then, beyond the visual object itself. Curator: Precisely. That unassuming grain chest, therefore, becomes a valuable historical artifact, representative of socio-political considerations during this period. Editor: Thank you; I learned a lot looking at this painting of a chest. I realize how art objects are also influenced by cultural conditions that allow or drive them to exist.