Comb Back Chair c. 1940

Claude Marshall made this chair drawing sometime in the 20th century, we don't know exactly when. It’s simple, honest. You can tell they were interested in the chair as a form. I wonder what he was thinking when he made it. Was he measuring every detail? Or was he letting his hand just flow, feeling out the shapes as they emerged? Look how the back curves into the arms, kinda cradling the sitter. What does it mean to capture that intimacy? Like a painter setting up a still life, Marshall is playing with light and shadow, using line to give shape to something solid. This drawing makes me think of Morandi, how he kept returning to the same bottles, each time finding something new. It's like Marshall is saying, "Hey, even the everyday can be beautiful, if you really look." And isn’t that what art’s all about, really? Paying attention.