Pewter Sugar Bowl c. 1936

Sidney Liswood made this drawing of a pewter sugar bowl. The bowl’s rendered with such precise, almost obsessive lines, it feels like Liswood was trying to capture not just its appearance, but its very essence. I love how the graphite creates this soft, metallic sheen, capturing the cool smoothness of the pewter itself. There’s something so satisfying about the symmetry of the bowl, the way the handles curl just so, like little question marks. But, if you look closely, you’ll notice how the lines aren’t perfectly uniform, and the subtle imperfections give the drawing a sense of life, a human touch. It reminds me of Morandi’s still lifes, how he could turn the most mundane objects into something profound through repetition and subtle variation. Both artists invite us to slow down, to really see the beauty in the everyday.