Dining Room Chair c. 1938

Editor: So here we have Manuel G. Runyan’s “Dining Room Chair,” likely from 1938. It's rendered with what looks like watercolor and pencil. It strikes me as... humble. Even a bit melancholic. What do you make of it? Curator: Humble is a brilliant word for it. It's a celebration of the everyday, isn’t it? Think about what was happening in 1938. The Depression’s lingering shadow, anxieties about the looming war…Runyan chooses not to depict grand landscapes or portraits of the powerful, but this simple chair. It’s beautifully observed, too, don’t you think, the way the light catches the wood grain. Does it remind you of anything? Editor: Now that you mention it, there’s a stillness reminiscent of Van Gogh's chair painting. It gives presence to the ordinary. So is it less about the chair and more about… resilience? Curator: Precisely. I think Runyan saw a kind of quiet dignity in the everyday object. It also speaks to a certain American aesthetic – a kind of understated elegance and appreciation for craftsmanship. But hey, maybe Runyan just needed a chair to sit on while he painted! Art is, after all, like life - funny sometimes. Editor: So much more than just a chair. I will definitely never look at simple household objects the same way again. Curator: Excellent. Remember art is about expanding our world view and perspective.