Carpet Bag c. 1938

This is Samuel Faigin’s Carpet Bag, made at an unknown date with watercolour and graphite on paper. It's interesting to consider the process in this work; the way Faigin has broken down the complex, tactile reality of a patterned bag into a series of delicate washes and precise lines. There's a kind of reverence in the way he's rendered the textures. Look at the dark panel on the bag; you can almost feel the ridges of the corduroy, translated into a visual rhythm of light and shadow. The floral details are both crisp and soft. This bag feels like a portrait, not just of an object, but of an era. Think about the quiet, observant quality of Fairfield Porter's domestic interiors. And like Porter, Faigin finds poetry in the everyday. It’s a reminder that art can be about slowing down, paying attention, and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.