Rocking Horse c. 1939

Willard Hazen made this ‘Rocking Horse’ with an unknown medium sometime in the 20th century. The flat, matte surface gives it a slightly dreamy quality, like a half-remembered thing, you know? I love how Hazen uses such a tight colour palette. These muted greens, browns and off-whites – they're not trying to be loud, but they're so specific and comforting. The horse itself, with its delicate dappling, feels so tactile, so real. And the way he's rendered the wooden frame – you can almost feel the gentle rocking motion. The seat, that little brown rectangle holding the whole thing together, is so perfectly positioned. It’s both functional and visually anchoring. This feels like a cousin to Joseph Yoakum’s landscape drawings, there's a similar way of collapsing depth and flattening perspective. For me, this work opens up this whole space of memory, childhood, and the quiet beauty of handmade objects.