Gateleg Table c. 1942

Editor: This is Peter Ustinov's "Gateleg Table," created around 1942 using watercolor and charcoal. It's such a detailed and almost loving depiction of an everyday object. What aspects of this work strike you most? Curator: I immediately see the significance of depicting a mass-produced item, a common table. It speaks to the relationship between artistic creation and the labor involved in producing functional objects, blurring the line between 'high art' and everyday design. Editor: So you're saying the very ordinariness of the subject matter is significant? Curator: Precisely! Consider the period: 1942. World War II would be affecting materials availability and industrial production everywhere. Does rendering this table in watercolour instead of, say, photography, impact how we value it? How does the drawing process influence our perception of labor, versus if it had been mass produced by mechanical means? Editor: That makes me think about the skill required to render it so realistically with watercolor. It elevates the object, but also maybe comments on the value we place on handcrafted versus manufactured goods. Curator: Indeed. It begs the question: what social forces were influencing the art market, material sourcing, and cultural biases at this time? What sort of client/patron do you imagine who may have been attracted to this work? It is possible that an apparently humble study like this quietly contains great political import. Editor: That's a really interesting way to consider the piece – not just as a still life, but as a statement on production, consumption, and even wartime resourcefulness. I’ll definitely look at everyday objects in art differently now! Curator: I am gratified. Recognizing how production intersects with art expands our perspective immensely.