Bed Warming Pan c. 1941

V.L. Vance made this drawing of a bed warming pan, we don’t know when, but she was working until 1995. What strikes me is how she treats the object like an emblem, it’s isolated on the page, carefully described with watercolour, and then repeated in miniature! The colours are restrained, pale golds and browns that describe the metallic surface of the pan. Look closely and you’ll see that the light seems to catch the surface of the pan, creating subtle gradations and highlights that give the object a real sense of depth. In the centre, there’s a charming decoration of a bird surrounded by flowers, rendered with a gentle, almost hesitant line. It’s this quality of light touch that allows Vance to really capture the texture of the metal itself. This gentle approach reminds me of the work of Charles Burchfield, who made watercolour drawings of domestic objects, capturing their quiet beauty. It’s this kind of attention to detail and careful observation that transforms an ordinary object into something extraordinary, inviting us to pause and appreciate the simple elegance of a bed warming pan.