Stool c. 1937

Frank Wenger rendered this stool in paint, sometime between 1855 and 1995. It's a lovely study in quiet observation. I see the artist building up the form with patient strokes, coaxing the curves of the legs into being, layer by layer. It's a very understated palette of browns, blacks, and creams, but it's all there in the details; look at how he captures the light playing on the dark velvet cushion. You can almost feel the softness of the fabric. And those cross-legged supports—they have such an elegant, almost classical, air about them. I can imagine Wenger, squinting at the object, trying to get the perspective just right, wrestling with the subtleties of light and shadow. I bet he leaned back often and took a long look at the subject, just to make sure he was on the right track. It’s kind of a conversation with a thing, this painting, isn't it? An exchange of ideas, from eye to hand to the painted surface, between artist and object.