Drawer Pulls c. 1936

Janet Riza made this drawing of drawer pulls with what looks like watercolor, maybe gouache. The color palette is almost monochromatic and she worked with the subtle difference between the shades of gold and cream. She’s showing us the surface of things, focusing on texture and the way light reflects. There is a lot of intricate detail, look closely and you’ll see the way she captures the light on the curved forms with tiny flicks of color, giving them volume. I particularly like the keyhole drawer pull in the center of the drawing. The shape of the escutcheon is echoed by the outline shape of the handle pulls above and below. It makes you think of a face, or some kind of creature. Janet Riza is a bit of an unknown quantity, but the quality of her work is very reminiscent of Charles Demuth, in terms of the subject matter as well as the quality of light. Ultimately, what makes this drawing so beautiful is the ambiguity she embraces.