Betty Lamp c. 1941

Stella Mosher made this delicate watercolor of a Betty Lamp. It's a warm, ochre-heavy rendering, light on its feet, and hovering on the page. I imagine her poised with her brush, carefully building up the tones, one layer at a time. What might she have been thinking, sitting with this object? I'm struck by the fragility of the lines, but they’re firm in their conviction. There is a quiet elegance to the work, a tenderness in her description of this simple object that feels generous. The lamp and its delicate apparatus have a touching presence on the page. I think of the Italian painter, Morandi, and his quiet still lifes. Mosher gives us an image of a lamp, not a grand statement, but a still moment of seeing. It is an invitation to reflect on the beauty of the everyday.