Knitted Doll with Flag c. 1937

Verna Tallman made this watercolour of a knitted doll holding a flag at an unknown date. Look at the way she renders the materiality of the doll with closely packed parallel lines, a type of mark-making that echoes the processes of knitting and stitching. I love the unassuming but incredibly detailed way Tallman has captured the knitted texture of the doll's dress, hat, and even the American flag. The repetitive, almost obsessive quality of these lines speaks to the labor-intensive process of knitting itself, and it reminds me of the way some artists, like Agnes Martin, use repetition to create a sense of meditative calm. But here, the added element of the doll and the flag introduces a layer of narrative and personal history. It makes me think of the work of outsider artists like Henry Darger, who created elaborate fantasy worlds through drawing and writing. Like Darger, Tallman seems to be using art as a way to create a world of her own, filled with personal symbols and meanings. The slight awkwardness of the doll's pose, the intensity of its gaze – it all adds to the sense of a unique and deeply personal vision.