Spindle Settee Chest 1935 - 1942

Roberta Elvis made this drawing of a spindle settee chest in watercolor and graphite. Look at the soft, almost hazy way the watercolor describes the object. It’s not just about depiction, it’s about atmosphere. The wood grain is hinted at rather than defined, giving the settee a kind of dreamlike quality. The colors are muted, earthy, but there's a glow, especially on the front panel, achieved with thin washes of pigment, layer upon layer. See the way she builds up the form, not with hard lines, but with subtle gradations of tone. There's a real tenderness here, a love of the material and the craft. The more technical graphite drawings to each side remind us of the artists understanding of object, space, and form. It reminds me a little of Agnes Martin, in its quiet simplicity and dedication to a single form. Like Martin, Elvis finds endless variation within a limited framework, showing us that art is not just about what we see, but how we see it. It’s this openness to possibility that keeps art alive, sparking new conversations across generations.