Volunteer Fireman's Cap 1938

Alexander Anderson made this Volunteer Fireman's Cap sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It's a beautifully rendered drawing, isn’t it? The soft graphite and watercolor washes give it a feeling of both precision and delicacy. I can imagine Anderson, carefully observing every detail of the cap. He really seemed to focus on the textures – the smooth crown, the fuzzy green velvet band, the woven gold trim. The way he’s handled the light, it almost feels like you could reach out and touch the thing. There is something about this image that is a bit like a Chardin painting – ordinary, yet so carefully observed that it takes on a contemplative and symbolic aura. It makes you think about what painting is, doesn't it? And the strange need to memorialize the everyday. Like, what does a fireman’s hat mean to Anderson, or to us? What do we choose to preserve, and why?