Tailor's Iron c. 1938

This "Tailor’s Iron" was made by Herndon Hightower, but the date is unknown. The monochrome palette feels right, all browns and tans, like the memory of something old. The iron is isolated on the page, forcing me to really look at it. Hightower painstakingly renders the texture of rust, and the way the iron’s handle has been twisted. The whole image is like a drawing, built up through layering of dark and light tones. It feels like a form of tonal painting, similar to the work of Giorgio Morandi, who also created studies of isolated, everyday objects. Look at how the iron hovers slightly above the surface, it has a weight, but it is a drawing of weight. Hightower has a close, intimate relationship with his subject, and through his attentive rendering, he encourages the viewer to forge the same connection.