Early Dayton Chair c. 1937

Therkel Anderson made this watercolour and graphite drawing of an ‘Early Dayton Chair’. Isn’t it interesting how this artist has taken a simple chair, something we all know, and turned it into a quiet contemplation? I can almost feel the artist tracing and retracing the lines of the chair, searching for its essence, its form. The dark brown of the wooden frame contrasted with the woven seat, a tactile element rendered with delicate precision. Look at the faint sketch of another chair, slightly off to the side. What’s that about? A ghost of chairs past? An evolution of design? Perhaps the artist was thinking about all the chairs they’ve ever known, the chairs of their childhood, the chairs that have held them up through life’s ups and downs. Painters, we’re always in conversation with each other, riffing on the same old themes, looking for new ways to see, new ways to feel. It's about the subtle shifts, the tiny variations that make each work unique and deeply personal.