Pa. German Chair c. 1938

Frances Lichten made this watercolour of a Pa. German Chair sometime in the 20th century. The way the chair's been rendered, with those close-valued browns, it's like she’s trying to figure out its structure, almost like an engineer or an architect, but with a softer, more human touch. Look at the seat cushion, you can see how the colour builds up with lots of thin washes, one on top of the other. Lichten really lets the pigment do its thing, doesn't force it, instead it's a meditation on the colour brown! But the way the chair legs are rendered is quite different. See how the artist has outlined each curve and angle, so that the chair looks really solid and stable. This piece reminds me of some of the Shaker furniture drawings, where clarity and simplicity meet beauty. Lichten really gets to the essence of the thing without getting bogged down in detail, like she’s saying, "Here is a chair, simple, useful, and beautiful.” Art doesn't always have to shout, sometimes it just whispers, “Look closely."