Spectacles c. 1936

Frank Nelson made this drawing of Spectacles, we don't know exactly when. Nelson coaxes the shapes onto the paper with a deftness that almost feels like a dance, a negotiation between intention and the happy accidents that come with any creative endeavor. The materiality is striking, isn't it? The glasses float, rendered with thin lines and almost translucent lenses. The surface has this delicate quality, like it could be erased with a breath. Look closely at the thin lines forming the frame; each one is like a tiny tightrope walk. The simplicity almost reads as a challenge. There is a touch of Giorgio Morandi in Nelson’s approach, that sense of quiet observation. Like Morandi, Nelson embraces ambiguity. What do these spectacles see? What do they obscure? It's a reminder that art isn't about answers, but about the questions we ask.