Ranch Chair c. 1937

Verna Tallman made this painting of a ranch chair, we don't know exactly when, with what looks like watercolor on paper. I love the simplicity of this thing. Tallman's rendering is unassuming, even artless, in its directness. It's a chair, plain and simple, but she also painted a detail of the chair back, floating in space, like a dream of a chair. The color palette is restrained – mostly browns and beiges – but there's a subtle play of light and shadow that gives the chair a real sense of volume. Look at the way she’s painted the woven seat, each strand carefully delineated, but still somehow suggesting the texture and give of the material. It reminds me of Guston's late paintings, how he could imbue the most mundane objects with a kind of profound significance. This ranch chair, like one of Guston's shoes or lightbulbs, becomes a symbol of something larger than itself – a testament to the beauty and dignity of everyday life. Art doesn't have to be complicated, it just has to be felt.