Shaker Refectory Table with Benches c. 1936

Alfred H. Smith made this watercolour on paper of a Shaker Refectory Table with Benches. Just looking at it, I can feel the evenness of the application, and the way the light catches on the flat surfaces he's rendered. I can imagine Smith carefully layering the pigment to build up the subtle wood grain. I wonder if he was thinking about the Shaker commitment to simplicity and functionality when he made it. The table and benches are so spare, so utterly without ornamentation. I can see the ghost of Agnes Martin in there. The red bench is a grounding force, a dark note against the pale table. It is a study in light and shadow, stillness and quiet observation. And it reminds us that artists are always in conversation with each other, across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. Like a great Agnes Martin painting, this watercolour reminds us that less really can be more.