Medicine Bottle Chest c. 1936

This is Gilbert Sackerman’s ‘Medicine Bottle Chest’, a watercolour work of indeterminate date. The restrained palette, mostly browns and blues, suggests a pragmatic approach, as does the close attention to detail, especially on the bottles themselves. You can really imagine the artist, carefully studying each curve and facet as he painted. The texture of the chest is built up through many thin layers of brown wash, creating a sense of depth. Look closely, and you can see how the colour pools and gathers in the corners and along the edges, giving the wood a satisfying weight. The artist’s hand feels present here, as though we could reach out and touch the surface of the artwork and feel the grain of the wood. The eye is really drawn to the metal clasp, a simple square that almost vibrates with a darker energy. Sackerman shares affinities with Joseph Cornell, who often worked with found objects to explore themes of memory, history, and personal narrative. Both artists encourage us to find our own meanings within their work, and to embrace the ambiguity and open-endedness of art.