Bucket c. 1940

William Kieckhofel made this watercolor painting of a bucket, we don't know exactly when. The color palette is super earthy, dominated by the reddish brown of the bucket itself, accented by the steely gray of the handle and trim. I can just imagine Kieckhofel, hunched over his paper, carefully building up the tones with tiny brushstrokes. The way he's rendered the texture makes the bucket almost seem touchable. It makes me wonder what it might have been like for him, depicting this humble object. What thoughts went through his mind as he painted each flower and grazing deer? The gentle undulations at the base remind me of waves rippling along the shore. It’s interesting how these simple gestures can communicate so much. Ultimately, Kieckhofel's bucket shows us that sometimes the most profound statements are made through the quietest means. It invites us to see beauty in the everyday and to consider the stories that ordinary objects can tell.