Toby Pottery Jug c. 1938

Katharine Merrill made this Toby Pottery Jug out of watercolor washes on paper. Look at those browns – raw umber, burnt sienna, hints of violet – all flowing together, like earth and water mixing to make mud. I imagine Merrill hunched over her work, carefully building up those translucent layers. Did she start with a light sketch, mapping out the jug’s quirky proportions? Look at the face emerging from the side – it’s like a little secret, a personality hiding in the curves. I wonder, was it a real jug, or something she imagined? The way she’s handled the watercolor feels fresh, almost improvisational. You can see the brushstrokes, the drips, the happy accidents. It reminds me of Fairfield Porter, who also made paintings of domestic scenes, of the everyday. It’s like she’s saying, hey, even the simplest object can be a source of beauty and wonder. And isn’t that what art is all about, finding the magic in the mundane?