Branding Iron c. 1942

Elizabeth Johnson made this watercolor of a branding iron, and it's got a kind of understated power to it. The palette is muted, almost monochromatic, but the artist coaxes a lot of variation from these humble browns. What I love about this painting is how Johnson makes the ordinary extraordinary. Look at the rendering of the metal – thin washes of color give a sense of form, but it's the attention to detail, the way the light catches on the edges, that brings it to life. You can almost feel the weight and texture of the iron. And there, to the right of the tool, are two bars above a faded, barely-there rendering of what looks like the letter 'N'. It’s like a ghostly echo of the branding iron's purpose, a reminder of the marks we leave on the world. Thinking about the work of Agnes Martin, who similarly used the most economical means to such an expressive end, it's as if this piece also seeks to transcend its humble subject matter, and in doing so, invites us to slow down, to really *see*.