Bootjack c. 1940

Robert W.R. Taylor painted this bootjack, sometime between 1855 and 1995, with focused precision. I love how this humble object has been transformed into a kind of dignified creature. Look closely, and you’ll see the meticulous detail – the scaly texture of its body, rendered with tiny, repetitive strokes. The color palette is muted, almost monochromatic, which adds to the sense of quiet contemplation. The overall effect is mesmerizing. Taylor has taken this everyday object and turned it into something that invites us to slow down, to consider the beauty of form and the possibilities of color. It reminds me a little of the drawings of Charles Burchfield, in the way that it seems to animate the inanimate. Art invites us to pause, reflect, and reimagine the world around us.