Gatepost Finial c. 1941

Adolph Opstad's ‘Gatepost Finial’ is a watercolour of sculpture, feathered in strokes of brown and green wash over muted pink and golden hues, with a lot of light. I wonder what Opstad thought, rendering this finial in paint? Did he ever imagine that his artwork would one day be in a museum? I think this piece is wonderful in its own right but also as a source document, a faithful record of this object. I keep coming back to the light and the colour. It feels like a memory that I'm trying to recall. Maybe that's because the wings are slightly different, slightly asymmetrical, not quite the same on either side. It makes it feel more alive, more real. Ultimately painting is about embodied expression, about embracing ambiguity and uncertainty. It's not about a fixed, definitive reading, but more about opening a space of imagination for the viewer.