Shaker Round Table 1935 - 1942

Editor: This is a watercolor and graphite drawing titled “Shaker Round Table,” made sometime between 1935 and 1942. It's attributed to Alfred H. Smith. I’m really struck by the quiet simplicity of it, a kind of elegant stillness. What catches your eye in this work? Curator: Stillness is such a perfect word! It does feel quiet, doesn’t it? It’s interesting because the subject itself is so practical. Smith almost elevates it, rendering a common object with such deliberate care that it becomes more than just a table. The watercolor gives it an ethereal quality, almost as if it exists more in the realm of thought than in reality. Do you get a sense of that separation at all? Editor: Yes, I see that. It's like a memory of a table rather than the table itself. I wouldn’t necessarily call this Modernist, though I see that in the tags. It almost seems…too grounded for that? Curator: Well, Modernism isn’t always about radical departure; it’s also about refining and simplifying. Think about Shaker design principles – functionality, simplicity, honesty. Smith is capturing the essence of those principles, maybe even commenting on how beauty can be found in the everyday, a concept the Modernists latched onto quite often. I feel a certain resonance with Georgia O'Keefe’s work when I look at this piece: reducing objects to their simplest form. Editor: That makes a lot of sense, especially the connection to O'Keefe! I'm starting to see how even seemingly simple images can have a layered conversation with the history of art. Curator: Absolutely! It’s all about looking closer, isn’t it? And seeing what the artist sees...or wants us to. Every line, every wash of color, tells a story. Hopefully we brought some life back into the image, and back into that little table!