Whiskey Glass c. 1936

Emma Wilson made this drawing of a whiskey glass, sometime between 1855 and 1995. I love how the pale blues and greys give the glass this ghostly, almost see-through quality. You can almost feel the artist feeling her way around the shape, trying to capture it on paper. It's like she's saying, "Let's slow down and really look at this ordinary thing." And when I really look, I notice how delicate the stem is, and how the base flares out like a little skirt. The three extra diagrams of parts of the glass are a lovely touch. They add a touch of playful abstraction to the piece, as though the artist is taking apart the different elements of the glass. It reminds me of the analytical eye of Cezanne. I always think about art as a conversation across time. And Wilson's drawing, in its quiet way, speaks to that. It's not about grand statements but about finding beauty in the everyday.