Doll Furniture - Chair c. 1937

Ellen Duncan made this 'Doll Furniture - Chair' with paint, sometime in the 20th century. It's a simple image, a child's chair rendered with such care that it feels monumental, like a throne. The color is so specific, like the memory of a color, not quite brown, not quite red, but a kind of faded, beloved hue. Duncan isn't trying to trick us with illusion. Look at the seat of the chair – the artist has built up the surface here with layers of semi-transparent color, like a watercolor, the strokes tentative, searching. The whole thing is bathed in light, yet remains somehow dense, solid. The chair feels lonely, and yet complete in itself. Agnes Martin also found profound meaning through similar restraints, it’s the commitment to a simple language that makes the statement so powerful. It's a reminder that art isn't always about complexity; sometimes, it's about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.