Coffee Grinder 1937

Curator: This watercolor and charcoal drawing from 1937 by Dayton Brown depicts a coffee grinder. Editor: It’s so meticulously rendered; almost nostalgic. There’s a stillness to it, an ode to the everyday object. Curator: It resonates with the broader cultural context of the late 1930s in America, doesn’t it? Mass production had begun impacting craft. This close observation almost feels like a memorial. Editor: Precisely. Think about the materiality here. The wood, likely locally sourced, fashioned into something functional. Then the metal components. The piece quietly celebrates craft, utility, and perhaps self-sufficiency during the Depression. Curator: Yes, the focus on a seemingly mundane object speaks to an embrace of domesticity, perhaps a way to create a sense of normalcy amid social and economic upheaval. Who used this object, what was their class, their race, their gender? Editor: I think it's worth considering that labor involved: the unseen work that is linked to our simple pleasures like drinking a cup of coffee. It is easy to overlook the human element in manufactured products. Curator: Absolutely. And what about the representation itself? Why focus on this particular object and present it in such detail? How might that speak to contemporary audiences regarding class dynamics, and cultural value? Editor: The meticulous realism encourages us to value handiwork, and also reflect on the environmental footprint involved in these materials. Is that handle brass? I find myself considering the process from extraction of resources, to transport and distribution. Curator: Considering Brown’s era and artistic approach gives new significance to his choices in material and form, I wonder what would this object represents today? Editor: Indeed. It makes you consider your relationship with objects around you, as well as their makers. I think this little drawing urges us to consider more than we often do.