Handmade Chair - Rawhide Seat c. 1939

This is Manuel G. Runyan's "Handmade Chair - Rawhide Seat," but we don't know exactly when it was made. It looks like it was done with watercolor. I’m thinking about how the simplest things, like a chair, can hold so much quiet, unassuming beauty. Look at the way Runyan renders the worn texture of the rawhide seat – it’s all subtle washes and delicate layering. The muted palette of browns and tans, feels like it’s about the process of aging, of seeing something beautiful in the ordinary. The strokes are so careful, almost reverent. The chair is rendered with such soft, understated strokes. It’s like Runyan is inviting us to slow down, to really see the quiet dignity of this humble object. It reminds me of Agnes Martin’s work, in the way she used simple forms and a restrained palette to evoke a sense of calm and contemplation.