Table 1935 - 1942

This is an architectural plan of a table, presumably for the Parlor of the Russel House, now held in the Brooklyn Museum collection. Notice the table’s legs. These are connected by a curved support centered with a bulbous turning. This echoes the ‘tree of life’ motif which reaches back through history, and across cultures. In ancient Mesopotamia, this tree symbolized immortality and connection between the earthly and divine realms. In later Christian iconography, the tree of life morphed into the cross, a potent symbol of sacrifice and redemption. Here, in the legs of a table, we see a faint echo of that symbol. Such motifs have a life of their own; a symbolic journey through time, subconsciously shaping our perceptions and emotional responses, appearing and reappearing in unexpected places, like the legs of a table.