Woman's Slipper c. 1937

Marie Mitchell created this watercolor painting, “Woman’s Slipper,” on paper. The palette is soft and subdued, mostly greys and creams, with a tiny smattering of color in the form of delicate little flowers near the toe. I love imagining Mitchell at work. She's carefully rendering each little detail, patiently building up layers of pigment. I can sense her focus on capturing the texture and form of the slipper—the way the light gently curves around it. It's like she's trying to understand and capture the very essence of this slipper. And what about those slippers? Those are for dancing, surely? Maybe these shoes are how Mitchell herself wanted to float and move through the world. This painting reminds me that artists like Mitchell are constantly experimenting and searching, learning through the act of painting itself.