Table c. 1939

Charles Bowman’s ‘Table’ is a careful rendering of decorative furniture in watercolor and graphite. I can imagine him meticulously building up the image of the ornate table, one careful stroke after another. Look at the level of detail Bowman includes, from the delicate filigree around the tabletop to the subtle shading that gives form to the legs. There’s a kind of joy in the making; you can almost see him repeating the shapes and motifs of the table, each time finding a slightly different nuance. It makes me think about how artists are like detectives, examining something closely to reveal its essence. Bowman probably asked himself, How does the light play on the carved wood? How do the shapes interact with the surrounding space? It's all about looking, feeling, and translating that experience onto paper. It's part of a visual conversation across generations. Artists borrow, steal, and riff off each other's ideas, each adding their own voice. And here we are, continuing the conversation!