Pewter Coffee Pot c. 1936

This is Eugene Barrell's "Pewter Coffee Pot," and when I look at it, I think of the artist working alone, quietly, and studiously observing the world. This is a close observation of a humble object, it's not a grand history painting. It has a sort of grayness, the object is pewter, and the drawing also has that sort of metallic tonality. You can see Barrell's interest in surface and texture in the rendering of light on the metal. The way the drawing builds up in tones reminds me of the way Morandi would paint his bottles. And there's something quietly radical in that act of giving full attention to a single object. It can be a political act to pay attention to the everyday, the local, and the accessible. It also makes me think about all of the other artists who find a deep source of inspiration from humble, everyday objects. It's all a conversation, artists are constantly in dialogue with one another.