Shaker Woman's Bonnet c. 1936

Elizabeth Moutal made this painting of a Shaker Woman's Bonnet, and what gets me is the way she builds up the image with these patient, careful marks. It's like she's not just showing us a bonnet but also the process of seeing and representing it. I can really feel the texture in this piece. The way the pigment settles into the paper, the almost imperceptible undulations of the surface. The color is so subtle and muted, kind of earthy. Look at the way she handles the fabric of the bonnet, it’s like she’s feeling it out, trying to understand its form and weight through the application of paint. See that line of purple running along the side? It's almost like a little joke, a tiny moment of rebellion against the strictness of the bonnet itself. There's something so intimate and quiet about this painting. It reminds me a little of Agnes Martin, in the way that she finds so much depth and complexity in such simple forms. In both artists’ work there is an openness to the infinite possibilities of artmaking.