Armchair 1939

Isadore Goldberg painted this watercolour of an armchair; it looks like he was trying to capture every single detail of the woven seat and the woodgrain. I like to imagine the kind of intense focus that Goldberg must have had to paint this. Maybe he sat with his chair and squinted at it for hours. He may have been thinking about furniture design, or the history of craft, or the simple pleasure of a well-made object. The way he handles the watercolour gives it an almost photographic quality, but there’s still a tenderness to it, like he’s trying to preserve something. You can almost feel the smooth, polished wood, and the rough texture of the woven seat. It reminds me a little of Fairfield Porter, who also found beauty in everyday scenes. Artists are always in conversation with each other. Goldberg's armchair makes me think about how something as simple as a chair can hold so much meaning, and how painting can help us see the world in new ways.