Weather Vane c. 1940

Selma Sandler made this “Weather Vane” on paper, and I just love how she captured the object’s sturdy silhouette and the marks and patterns on its surface! I bet Selma found this weathered, wooden horse somewhere, maybe it was even in her house. And she just looked at it and thought, I need to paint this. It's so cool how she’s not afraid to show the marks on the horse’s body - the fading paint, the wear and tear. You can really see the physicality of the object, you can imagine touching its smooth, rough surface. There is something so special about the rendering of the tail, too – the grey colour, the way it hangs loosely in the air. Maybe it reminds me of Arthur Dove's paintings of wind moving through wheat fields, that combination of observation and abstraction. Artists are always in dialogue, aren’t they? They keep each other company, across generations. Ultimately, painting is about seeing, feeling, and responding, and Selma's Weather Vane really captures that spirit!