Velvet Shoe c. 1937

Gerald Transpota painted this “Velvet Shoe” on paper, and it’s a little jewel of a painting. Look at how Transpota coaxes the watercolor, letting it bleed and settle into the paper. See that luscious brown near the toe? It's like he’s not so much depicting a shoe as conjuring its essence. The textures he's capturing—the smooth leather, the plush velvet, the delicate tassels—are rendered with such care. I love how the little gold embellishments catch the light, each a tiny burst of joy. It makes me think of Morandi, who similarly took humble domestic objects and turned them into monumental subjects for contemplation. It’s like Transpota is saying, “Even a shoe can be a world.” And isn't that the magic of painting? To find the extraordinary in the ordinary, and to share that vision with us.