Mourning Pendants c. 1936

These mourning pendants by William P. Shearwood are rendered in delicate lines of watercolor on paper. I can imagine Shearwood hunched over a table, meticulously layering washes of color to capture the minute details. Look at the tiny scenes within each oval – figures draped in sorrow beneath weeping willows, a woman gazing at an urn… I wonder, what were the stories behind these miniature memorials? What led Shearwood to paint them so tenderly? Was he, too, in mourning? Notice the backs of the pendants, how they become abstract fields of color and pattern. The texture of woven hair is captured. The gold shimmers. These aren't just representations; they're tactile objects imbued with emotion. Shearwood's work reminds us that painting isn't just about what we see. It's about feeling, remembering, and connecting with others across time. Artists like Shearwood have paved the way for contemporary artists to explore memory and emotion through their art.