Shaker Cabinet c. 1937

This ‘Shaker Cabinet’ was made by John W. Kelleher; we don’t have a date for it, but Kelleher lived from 1855 to 1995. Look at those soft washes of color, the way the light seems to play on the wood. I wonder what it was like for Kelleher to sit with this piece, trying to capture its essence on paper? There’s a certain stillness, a quiet reverence in the way the artist has rendered this everyday object. It reminds me of Agnes Martin's grids, or maybe even some of those early Renaissance paintings where everything is so carefully observed. You can see the care and attention to detail in the rendering of each drawer pull, each pane of glass. It’s like Kelleher is saying, ‘Look at this cabinet. Really look at it.’ And in doing so, he invites us to slow down, to appreciate the simple beauty of a well-made object. That is, after all, what artists do: they share their way of seeing so we can see better.