Toy Bank: Uncle Sam c. 1937

Elmer Weise imagined this “Toy Bank: Uncle Sam” with watercolour, graphite, and colored pencil, and I love it! I can almost see Weise hunched over this piece, carefully layering colors to build form and depth, especially on Uncle Sam’s suit. Look at the way he uses slightly different blues to give it texture. You can feel the artist’s hand and concentration in every little line and shape. I wonder if he collected toy banks? I bet he did! What I love about painting, and this piece, is how it’s not just about what’s represented but how it’s represented. It is as though the painting is thinking something, but is not quite sure what. This Uncle Sam becomes more than just a symbol, it's a feeling. That's the beauty of art, right? It's like a conversation across time, artists responding to each other and the world, each with their own messy, beautiful mark.