Buttons c. 1940

Mary Fitzgerald made this drawing of ‘Buttons’ at an unknown date, probably using pencil and watercolour on paper. These little studies of buttons are like a colour chart, or a guide to the material world in miniature. Look at the way she has built up the tones in each example, a kind of optical mixing that gives each button a subtle vibrancy. I really get a sense of the hand here, the artist’s patient, methodical way of building up the image. The colours are understated, but there’s a real feel for the texture of each button. Look closely at the lower left, the turquoise one, surrounded by a beaded trim. You can almost feel its glassy surface and the way the light catches it. It reminds me of Vija Celmins’ drawings of stones and shells, where the act of observation and the slow, repetitive mark-making blurs the distinction between the object and the image. It’s like Fitzgerald is reminding us to slow down, to really look, and to appreciate the beauty in the everyday.