Quilt c. 1936

Ellen Duncan made this drawing of a quilt, with what looks like colored pencil, at some point in her long life. She lived to be 100! And maybe that’s what I love most about this little sketch, it feels like it has all the time in the world. The diagonal stripes, like the ones on the quilt, remind me of Agnes Martin, but there’s something about the texture of the color here, not quite watercolor, more like a crayon, that feels folk-y and intimate. The edge of the quilt drapes over the side of what looks like a fancy chair, and this gives the drawing an almost surreal quality. The quilt looks heavy, but the application is so light, so casual, it feels like the process is the point. The drawing has this beautiful combination of freedom and detail, which makes it feel really alive. Like you could just reach out and touch it, even though it’s just a drawing.