Andiron (George Washington) c. 1937

Josephine Lindley made this watercolor and graphite drawing of an andiron, or fire dog, sometime during her long life. The palette of browns and grays is unassuming, almost humble, and I can imagine Lindley carefully layering the washes to achieve that beautiful rusted effect. I’m thinking about Lindley, working away, depicting this object from American history... Was she interested in preserving a record of the past, or perhaps playfully reinventing it? See how she repeats the image of Washington in the faint outlines to either side of the central figure. It’s almost like a ghostly echo, a trial run of the image slowly materializing into its final form. The repetition reminds me of Guston, or maybe Johns, who also played with seriality, albeit in a very different style. Ultimately, Lindley’s drawing prompts me to consider how artists converse across generations, reimagining history and memory through the act of painting.