Window in Choir Loft Looking South San Luis Rey Mission 1936

Here’s a little window into a choir loft, rendered by Howard H. Sherman in a watercolor wash. Look at the way the blue paint thins out near the edges, creating a soft gradient effect, a gentle fade, like a memory. You can tell this was painstakingly made, each little curlicue placed with care. I can imagine Sherman hunched over his desk, brush in hand, focused on the task. Each detail of the window becomes a meditation, a study in light and shadow. The overall composition is so satisfying; it reminds me a bit of Arthur Dove. Both were invested in a very particular kind of American Modernism. What’s great here is the dedication to craft; Sherman is speaking to us about the process of close looking, offering a detailed rendering of the world, a world full of simple beauty. Artists build on top of each other – a long game of telephone being played across generations, a conversation that is never really over.