Shop Sign 1937

Henry Murphy’s ‘Shop Sign’ – we don’t know when exactly it was made, but he used watercolor and graphite, probably on paper. Look at how those grapes are hanging, bunching together, almost like a solid mass! You can see the artist has relished rendering the subtle differences in tone and shade, giving a sense of depth and form to each individual grape. It’s like he’s inviting you to reach out and pluck one off. I can imagine Murphy thinking about light and shadow, about how to make this bunch of grapes feel real, feel tangible, maybe he'd even seen one like it as a kid? This piece has a real sweetness. And it's not just a still life; it’s a sign, pointing you to something, like those trompe l’oeil paintings that invite you into another world. You know, artists borrow and steal from each other, across time. This piece makes me think of the contemporary painter Jennifer Bartlett and the work of sign-painter and outsider artist Steve Keene, both kindred spirits across time and space.