Hitchcock Chair c. 1940

Genevieve Sherlock made this rendering of a Hitchcock chair, sometime between 1855 and 1995. I love imagining her making this, probably with gouache, with the paper flat on a table, or maybe on her lap? There's something very appealing about the simple colour palette –– that dark background, the bright yellow leafy flourishes, and the contrasting green and red berry-like shapes. These colours are all working together in harmony. I like how the painting has a folk-art feel, like it's connected to craft traditions and handmade objects. I am thinking about how this relates to the wider traditions of painting and decoration, especially how artists and artisans throughout history have used patterns and motifs to bring beauty and meaning into everyday life. I am sure that Genevieve must have looked at other artworks when creating this, maybe even unconsciously, artists are always in conversation with each other.