Settee or Chaise Lounge c. 1939

Lillian Causey made this piece, Settee or Chaise Lounge, with watercolor and graphite. What strikes me is the sheer simplicity of the form, that brick-red shape, and the thin strokes she uses to describe it. It feels like an idea of a chaise lounge, more than the thing itself. The materiality here is all in the tension between the flat, matte paper and the way Causey suggests depth with subtle shading. You can almost feel the smoothness of the paper, but then your eye gets tricked by the way she builds up the color to imply the plushness of the seat. Look closely at how the color shifts near the corners. It's as if she's trying to capture not just the look, but also the feeling of sinking into it. There’s a quietness here. It reminds me a little of Fairfield Porter's interiors, that same sense of everyday life, observed with care and affection. It's a reminder that art isn't always about grand gestures; sometimes it's about finding beauty in the ordinary.