Duncan Phyfe Sewing Cabinet c. 1940

This sketch of a Duncan Phyfe Sewing Cabinet was made by Edna Rex, and it seems to be executed with watercolor on paper. I find this rendering charming; it’s all about the gentle blending of color and the softness of the edges. Look at how she’s handled the form of the table. The wood grain is suggested rather than described, giving it this wonderful, almost ghostly presence. It's like the idea of a table, rather than a table itself. The color, a muted reddish-brown, feels warm, inviting. The sketch of the ‘tray’ gives us more information about the original object, like a little key to understanding the furniture’s functionality. It makes me think of other artists who blur the lines between representation and abstraction, like Giorgio Morandi, who turned everyday objects into these meditative, almost otherworldly forms. This piece by Rex reminds us that art is not about perfect representation but about a conversation between the artist, the object, and us, the viewers.