Jewel Boxes 

Scott Fraser painted these oil on canvas ‘Jewel Boxes’ sometime after being born in 1957. Fraser, a contemporary realist painter, brings an incredible verisimilitude to the objects he paints, reminiscent of the Dutch Masters. But unlike the Dutch Masters, these aren’t your average trinkets. The boxes themselves suggest a history of trade and cultural exchange, possibly hinting at the complexities of colonial encounters through the exchange of precious items. As containers, the jewel boxes provoke questions about the preciousness of the items they contain. Are these boxes just decorative objects, or do they hold something more? They might be the keepsakes of someone's most intimate memories. Fraser's work beautifully captures the emotional resonance objects can hold, transforming the mundane into something worthy of contemplation.