Shaker Kerchief c. 1941

Charles Goodwin rendered this Shaker Kerchief in watercolor with immense care. The blue grid against the off-white background is precise but softened by the wash of the paint. It's like looking at something intensely simple, rendered through the lens of devoted focus. The grid itself has a wobbly quality. It looks almost hand-drawn, which of course it is. The weave of the cloth is mirrored by the application of the paint, with delicate lines that seem to mimic threads. There's a small stain, or is it just a smudge of paint? These imperfections give the object a sense of intimacy, as if handled and used and therefore loved. The folded corner gives a sense of depth, a trompe l'oeil effect. The artist's close contemporary, Thomas Eakins, also focused on the subtle beauty of everyday objects. Both explore a humble kind of observation, and an insistence on the beauty of the ordinary. What is art if not an alchemic practice of transformation.