Tin & Wall Paper Cross c. 1937

Majel G. Claflin made this "Tin & Wall Paper Cross" at an unknown date, using what looks like watercolor and graphite on paper. The tin of the title is suggested by the cool grey outlines of the cross that look like folded sheet metal. I imagine her applying the washes of color, carefully building up the pale floral patterns inside the cross and then precisely outlining them with the darker grey. I love that she embraced the texture of the paper, letting it peek through the thin layers of paint, it's such an appealing ground to create an atmospheric effect. Claflin's use of line to define form reminds me of other early twentieth-century American modernists who were exploring simplified, stylized shapes. It must have been so nice to sit and calmly paint flowers at a time of so much turmoil.