Toleware Canister 1935 - 1942

Myra Newswanger painted this toleware canister, but the date is unknown, which makes you wonder about her process, right? Was this observed from life, or from memory? The paint has a kind of crusty texture, and the color palette is warm and muted, like old metal. This suggests that she might have been interested in capturing the look and feel of the actual object. The brushwork is also quite loose and gestural, with visible strokes and drips of paint, especially in the flower, which has a bold red center. The painting overall has a charming, folk-art quality to it. It reminds me a bit of some of Marsden Hartley’s still life paintings, which were similarly concerned with capturing the essence of everyday objects in a simple and direct way. And like any great artwork, it invites us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and mystery of the world around us, one little canister at a time.