Cut Tin Candle Holder 1935 - 1942

Editor: This is Dana Bartlett’s "Cut Tin Candle Holder," created sometime between 1935 and 1942. It’s rendered in watercolor and mixed media, and there’s a real emphasis on pattern. What catches your eye when you look at this, especially considering the context it was created in? Curator: Well, let's consider the "cut tin" itself. Tinplate was increasingly mass-produced then. Was this craft rooted in older, perhaps rural, modes of production? Did the artist’s rendering elevate this "common" material? Was it consumed primarily as "folk art," and if so, what does that consumption reveal? Editor: That’s interesting—I hadn’t thought about the material itself as speaking to broader themes. So the very *thingness* of the artwork offers social commentary? Curator: Absolutely. Look at the use of watercolor – how does that medium impact the perceived value of the object depicted? It’s representational but in no way deceptive. I also wonder about the hands that actually cut and shaped the tin, compared to the artist's hand translating it. Is Bartlett documenting or interpreting the labor inherent in creating these holders? Editor: That’s a powerful way to look at it. I tend to focus on artistic intent, but framing it this way opens up a new way of seeing this piece and its value within society. Curator: Precisely. Considering these questions transforms a simple watercolor into a reflection on material culture, labor, and artistic representation during a specific period. Editor: I appreciate you helping me think about how the artwork's materiality affects my reading of its deeper meaning. Thank you.