Tea Table 1939

Owen Middleton made this "Tea Table" with what looks like watercolor. The way he's handled the paint, so smooth and controlled, it’s like he’s trying to capture not just what the table looks like, but its essence, its solidity, its place in a room. I’m drawn to the legs, how they curve and taper, a graceful line that seems to defy the weight they carry. There’s a real delicacy in the touch, in the rendering of the wood grain. You can almost feel the smoothness of the polished surface. The light seems to catch on the edges, giving it a subtle glow. It reminds me a little of some of the Shaker artists, with that same attention to detail and quiet simplicity. But Middleton brings his own sensibility to it, a kind of understated elegance that makes you want to pull up a chair and have a cup of tea. Art is such a conversation across time.