Chest c. 1938

Frances Lichten made this painting of a chest. You know, sometimes I think about painters painting furniture, it's such a funny mirror-image. The maker of the chest, and Lichten, working with different materials, but with a shared sense of form, surface and decoration. This chest, with its inscription, 'Maria Kutz, 1783' feels like a container of secrets, and Lichten, with her palette of warm browns and beiges, has really captured that. She has rendered the object with such care, emphasizing the wood grain, the dovetail joints, and the lovely inlay work on the front and sides. You can imagine her really studying every inch of it, trying to understand its construction and its history. The chest itself is beautifully made but the painting has captured an enduring moment. Artists are always in conversation with each other across time, borrowing and transforming ideas. Painting furniture might seem like a strange thing to do, but it's a way of thinking about objects, about history, and about the ways we live.