Silver Pitcher c. 1937

D. Brandfield's 'Silver Pitcher', is a drawing, probably made as a study for a metalwork piece. Look at the way the pencil shading creates the smooth, reflective surface of the pitcher. You can see the artist building the form in layers, working from light to dark, just like I would in a painting. It's all about process. Notice the contrast between the solid, grounded base of the pitcher and the delicate curve of its handle. The smooth surface of the pitcher has subtle shifts in tone to suggest the play of light on metal. The drawing has a sense of weight and volume that makes you want to reach out and touch it. Look at the tiny embellishments around the lip and base. They are so small, but without them, the pitcher would feel incomplete. This kind of precise work reminds me of the drawings of Vija Celmins, although she is interested in the surface of things, while Brandfield is imagining the object itself. Ultimately art is a language of exchange across makers and eras, where nothing is ever definitively resolved.