Two Drawer Stand c. 1936

Edith Magnette made this drawing of a Two Drawer Stand, probably with graphite on paper. It’s all about the line here. The piece presents two views of the same object, the eye traveling up and down, tracing each curve of the legs, each horizontal stretch of the drawers. The whole composition feels really balanced and carefully considered. I’m thinking of Agnes Martin, and her own obsessive, tender pencil lines. Look at the way that Magnette has shaded in the forms of the legs to suggest roundness. It’s delicate and precise, but also kind of obsessive. What was it like to slowly and deliberately create that mark? To build the form through gentle repetition? You can feel Magnette’s hand in the work, her commitment to the process. Just like in painting, this drawing isn’t just about representation, it’s about the act of mark making itself.