Shaker Tilting Chair c. 1937

John W. Kelleher made this watercolor painting of a Shaker Tilting Chair, and just looking at it I think about the act of drawing, and the quiet that comes with it. The palette is muted, almost solemn, dominated by the beige of the paper, the light wood of the chair. I imagine Kelleher meticulously capturing every detail, stroke by stroke, line by line. What might he have been thinking when he made it? Was he interested in the texture of the woven seat, in the subtle shadows that define the form? There is a slight awkwardness to the perspective, a kind of innocence. The painting has a curious relationship to folk art, but maybe it's more about the Shaker's commitment to simplicity and functionality. It makes me think about how artists learn from each other, building on what came before. I love how a simple object, captured with such care, can offer us a way to see, think, and experience the world.