None Recorded 1935 - 1942

This delicate watercolor painting shows a single chair, rendered with such care that the piece of furniture almost floats off the page. I can imagine the artist here working with such fine brushes, teasing out the sinuous curves of the wood, layer after layer. Think about the anonymous artist, perhaps sitting with the chair for hours, trying to capture its essence, the way the light hits the carved wood, and the particular pattern of the upholstery. Do you think they struggled with this subject matter? Did they find it boring? Or were they in love with the challenge of portraying the ordinary? Look at the brushstrokes that define the chair's legs. There’s something so tender about the slight awkwardness of the rendering, and how they seem to teeter. It reminds me that the history of painting is made up of countless unsung heroes who, through their art, offer new ways of seeing the world. By embracing the potential of ambiguity, this artist invites us to see beauty where we least expect it.