Shaker Rocking Chair c. 1938

Lon Cronk's rendering of a Shaker Rocking Chair gives you the feeling that you could just reach out and touch the object. Just look at the precision of the lines, the symmetry, and the care with which each element is depicted. I can imagine Cronk hunched over his drawing, his brow furrowed in concentration, as he painstakingly captured every detail of the chair. It’s almost like he’s not just drawing a chair, but drawing a memory, a feeling, a sense of home. The color palette is warm and inviting, with a range of browns that give the chair a sense of solidity and warmth. The texture of the woven seat and back is beautifully rendered, giving you a sense of the tactile experience of sitting in the chair. It’s like you can almost feel the gentle rocking motion as you settle into its embrace. When you look at a painting of something so banal, it’s like the artist is saying, "Hey, look at this thing that you might normally overlook. See how beautiful it is?"