Glass Celery Holder c. 1939

Frank Keane made this drawing of a ‘Glass Celery Holder’ without a specific date, and it’s like he’s trying to figure out the glass as much as he’s trying to capture it. The paper has this warm, almost fleshy tone, and the rendering is so delicate, a whisper of pigment. Look at the way the light catches the curves, these light pink edges that give it shape, it's like the glass is breathing. The texture of the glass itself, with all those facets and curves, it’s a real feat of draftsmanship but also of looking. It reminds me of the way Giorgio Morandi would paint bottles; not trying to be flashy, but instead paying attention to something simple, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Like it's not just about the object itself but the act of looking and understanding. There's a quietness here, a kind of meditation. It’s like Keane is saying, “Let’s slow down and really see.”