Bag c. 1937

This work, Bag, was painted by Lillian Causey, who lived a long life spanning the late 19th and almost the entire 20th century. You can see her name at the bottom, carefully written like a signature on a painting. I can imagine her hand moving lightly and carefully over the surface of the paper, almost caressing it. The colour palette is subdued, mostly grayscale, with subtle warm hues indicating light and shadow on the fabric of the bag. The overall composition feels very gentle, with the image of the bag floating on the paper, but the painting is precise. You can tell she has taken time to look at the bag and render its intricate details, like the geometric band around the top. It must have taken a long time. Causey's work offers a unique and tender insight into the life and practices of women through the objects that surrounded them. I can also see echoes of other painters, like Morandi, who seemed to find endless variation and beauty in rendering simple domestic objects.