Small Pitcher 1935 - 1942

Editor: This watercolor drawing by William Schmidt, aptly titled "Small Pitcher," was created sometime between 1935 and 1942. What strikes me most is its...ordinariness, I suppose. How does something so functional and everyday become art? Curator: Exactly! It asks us to consider what we value. Why elevate this particular pitcher above others? It wasn't likely high-end porcelain. Consider the time period: mid-century, Depression-era America. This pitcher likely speaks to resourcefulness, utility, and the beauty found in the handmade object. Notice the medium itself—watercolor on paper. Editor: I do, yes. Curator: Watercolor, relatively inexpensive and accessible, democratizes the art-making process. And the subject matter... think of the labor involved in producing a utilitarian object like this—the potter, the kiln. Schmidt isn't just painting a pitcher; he's highlighting a whole network of production. Do you see the implications of that in our contemporary society? Editor: So, he is depicting a humble object in a way that gives the means of making value to labor instead of high art. I am realizing that I am starting to wonder who owned this pitcher and if it was special to that family? Curator: Precisely. Think about mass production versus handcrafted goods. This image makes us think about the source and conditions of what we consume. Editor: So much to consider when simply looking at a small pitcher. Curator: Indeed. And, in that consideration, we elevate not just the object, but the often-invisible processes of labor and materiality that brought it into being. Now I have a whole new respect for where utilitarian tools like pitchers come from and their production methods.