Black Painted Settee c. 1936

Ella Josephine Sterling made this drawing of a black painted settee, but we don't know when. The kind of flat black in this drawing, paired with the decorative pink floral pattern, makes me think of folk art, or maybe even outsider art. I bet Ella had a very specific idea of how she wanted it to look in her mind! The drawing has this very quiet, restrained energy, even though the original object it depicts must have been very striking. I can imagine the piece, maybe sitting in a parlour with the black really gleaming, reflecting all the light in the room, a little strange, a little formal, a little romantic...I bet she wanted it to contrast with all the other art in the room; an ongoing conversation, not in words, but in color, line, and form.