Convict Boot c. 1940

This 'Convict Boot' picture was painted by Robert W.R. Taylor, though we don't have a date for it. The colour range is earthy, limited, and subtle, all greys and browns, which gives it a kind of understated feel. The strange thing is, it's not just a picture of a boot, it's kind of a sculpture of a boot made from different blocks, like a Cubist collage in three dimensions. There's something very playful about this, like the artist is thinking about how things are put together, how you make a representation of a real object in a painting. The way he builds the boot up in layers and blocks of colour makes you think of Philip Guston's paintings, how he would build up forms from simple shapes. Ultimately, this feels like a depiction of how artists think, as much as how they see.