Metal Eagle c. 1940

Zabelle Missirian made this watercolor painting of a metallic-looking eagle, and it's fascinating how she builds up form with thin washes. Look how the color's not quite bronze, not quite gold. It shimmers! The paint handling is really delicate, almost tentative, yet it renders this monumentally-scaled form. It's like she's feeling her way around the object, mapping its contours. I love how the light catches on each individual feather, the shadows emphasizing its three-dimensionality. Consider the head— the way she uses these pale grays and blues, it looks almost bruised, which is such a strange detail to include, and this really grabs my attention. I find it fascinating that she made it feel so vulnerable, despite the eagle's traditionally fierce symbolism. It reminds me a little of some of Marsden Hartley's symbolist works, in its interest in heraldry, and its slightly awkward monumentality. There's a touch of naivety, but it really sings! Ultimately, it's more poetic than patriotic.