Pewter Teapot c. 1937

Eugene Croe painted this pewter teapot with watercolors, and what a lovely, quiet little scene it makes. I wonder what Croe was thinking when he made this. I'm picturing him in a room, sunlight falling through the window, as he carefully works with a small brush, teasing out the play of light on the teapot's surface. The colors are muted, almost monochromatic, but look how he captures the subtle gradations of tone. There's a beautiful restraint here, but it’s a painting of something solid, functional – a common object made precious through attention. It reminds me a bit of Morandi, who took humble things and turned them into monumental studies of form. The light is doing all the work here. And in this light, it's about the touch, the gentle caress of the brush. It suggests that painting is, at its heart, an act of quiet contemplation, an offering of care and attention in a world that is often too noisy.