Samuel Chase Chair 1935 - 1942

Here's a chair made by Samuel W. Ford, with thin washes of green and brown watercolor. I wonder, did he sit in it while he painted it? Or maybe he put it on a platform? I can imagine Ford, brush in hand, trying to capture the way light hits the wooden spindles. It's more of a rendering than a painting, you know? Every little detail is carefully observed, especially the pink cushion. I wonder who Samuel Chase was? You can almost feel the texture of the wood, the way the grain runs along the backrest. It reminds me of Fairfield Porter, the way he painted domestic scenes with such tenderness. It's a quiet painting, but there's something about the precision of the lines that makes it so compelling. It's like Ford is saying, "Look at this chair. Really look at it." And in doing so, he invites us to slow down and appreciate the beauty of everyday things. It is an ongoing exchange of ideas across time, inspiring creativity.