Cherry Pitter 1935 - 1942

Wayne White made this drawing of a Cherry Pitter, we don't know when, using what looks like graphite and maybe some watercolour. See how the careful shading gives the object a sort of quiet dignity? It's like a portrait, but of a thing. The texture is smooth, almost photographic, but you can also see the artist's hand in the tiny variations of tone. There's a beautiful bit on the handle, where the light catches it just so. It's amazing how much feeling can be wrung from such a mundane object when you really look. You might compare this to some of the still life work of Giorgio Morandi, who also found endless fascination in humble, everyday things. It's not about the object itself, but about how we see, how we feel, how we find beauty in the unexpected.