Man's Straw Hat 1935 - 1942

Stella Mosher, sometime between 1855 and 1955, made this 'Man's Straw Hat' with what looks like watercolour on paper. What strikes me is the gentle, almost hesitant way the artist has approached this subject. Look at the hat on the bottom; it’s rendered with such care, each straw meticulously described. There's a real tenderness in the way Mosher handles the medium. The colors are muted, earthy, as if the hats are slowly fading into the paper. Then my eye catches the unfinished sketch of another hat, so light it barely registers, giving us a glimpse into the artist’s process, the working out of form, like a half-remembered dream. It reminds me a little of Morandi’s still life paintings, where everyday objects become imbued with a quiet significance. It’s like Mosher is saying that even the most ordinary things deserve our attention, our love.