Powder Horn c. 1937

Grace Halpin’s watercolor on paper shows us a powder horn with the American eagle. I can imagine Grace really looking, really concentrating on this object. Trying to figure out how to capture the form with delicate washes of brown, black, and gold. You can see the little tonal shifts, the subtle gradients, and the way she used thin layers of paint to build up the image. The way the light hits the metal cap, there’s an almost photographic feel to the rendering. Was she interested in photography? Or a realist painter? She's dealing with shape, light, and form. Artists, we are always looking at each other, across time, trying to figure out how to do things. Halpin's quiet study of a seemingly mundane object invites us to slow down and appreciate the craftsmanship and history embedded within it. Maybe that horn was a starting point for Halpin to contemplate the history of the US, and how we try to capture meaning through making.