Red Wooden Cross used as Headstone c. 1937

Majel G. Claflin made this image of a red wooden cross, likely on paper, and sometime before 1941. I love how the woodgrain is lovingly described in pinky-red washes. It gives a sense of process; you can see the artist figuring out the object as she goes. The texture is all implied, of course. The paint is thin, transparent in places, allowing the whiteness of the paper to breathe through. Look at the marks around the nails! Each is carefully rendered with subtle shifts in tone, almost like tiny abstract paintings. The whole image feels so earnest and direct, a bit like the work of Milton Avery, with its simplified forms and focus on color. Yet, unlike Avery, Claflin isn't after pure abstraction; she's documenting something real, imbuing it with a quiet dignity. It reminds us that art is often about looking closely and finding beauty in unexpected places. And it reminds us that it’s a continuous conversation across time.