Pewter Tankard c. 1936

This is Henry Meyers' 'Pewter Tankard', a drawing made with what looks like graphite on paper. The subject is an old-timey beer mug, sitting smack-dab in the middle of the sheet, surrounded by smaller technical drawings of details, like a butterfly pinned to a board. I can imagine Meyers, back in the day, carefully measuring, sketching, erasing. He’s really trying to see the thing in front of him, to nail it. But it’s so not a photograph, is it? The shine of the pewter feels soft, not hard. His lines waver just a little. The whole thing feels kind of sweet. Like he’s not just drawing a mug, he’s drawing the *idea* of a mug. A mug from memory, maybe? Or a mug from a dream. It reminds me of the drawings of Giorgio Morandi. The act of observing and drawing, searching for the thingness of a thing, creates an intimate space of inquiry for both the artist and the viewer.