Tin Teapot c. 1939

This is Frank Gray’s ‘Tin Teapot’ – a rendering in watercolor, of a humble domestic object. The drawing has this really lovely, awkward, sincere quality, and I find myself wondering about the artist. The surface is built up in layers of thin washes, it's like he’s coaxing the form out of the paper. Look closely, and you can see how the colors shift and shimmer, with these little blossoms applied. I keep wanting to touch it. Those blossoms are the key: they have a life of their own, existing somewhere between decoration and representation. It reminds me a little of Marsden Hartley’s folk art-y still lifes, but with a touch more… tenderness? In Gray’s teapot, it's like he's celebrating the quiet beauty of everyday life, in a way that feels both timeless and deeply personal. Ultimately, it’s a simple image, but it sticks with you.