Pitcher 1937

Francis Law Durand made this drawing of a pitcher, we don’t know when exactly, using watercolor and graphite on paper. I'm just imagining Durand there, trying to capture this object, this pitcher. It’s got these simple blue decorations; lines around the top, a little flower, some text. I wonder what it was like to stand in front of this thing, trying to get it down, trying to understand how it felt to be a pitcher. Watercolor is tricky, you know? It's so transparent, so delicate. The way Durand uses it here, it's like he's trying to be faithful, but he’s also adding his own little touch. It reminds me of folk art, the way it's so direct and honest. You can see the hand of the artist, the way the brush moved, the way the colors blend. The artist sees something, and recreates that. The image is there as a form of communication. And we get to be part of that process too.