Side Chair c. 1939

This watercolour called ‘Side Chair’ was made by John Dana, who lived between 1855 and 1995, so the image is either from late in his life or it’s posthumous. I can imagine Dana working on this. The paint application is thin, almost translucent, giving the piece a delicate, airy quality. There's a certain precision in the lines that suggests a controlled hand, yet the slight variations in tone hint at the artist's touch, as if he allowed the water to guide the pigment across the page. I like the eagle in the back. Is this a symbol of something bigger? Maybe freedom, the ability to fly and see things from above? It reminds me a little of Hopper and Sheeler, but it's also just its own thing, which is what every artist hopes for, right? This work is also a link in the chain of all art making.