Chair c. 1937

Majel G. Claflin made this painting of a chair with watercolour. Look at how the brushstrokes build up the form! The colour, this amazing teal, isn’t flat. It’s got depth, a real material presence. You can almost feel the grain of the wood through the paint. I love the little details, like the way the paint pools around the edges of the chair, or how the light catches the surface. It's like she's not just painting a chair, but the idea of a chair, its essence. The strokes are so assured but at the same time don’t try to trick you, or hide the process. It’s all about the making and the looking. There’s a connection here with some of the early American modernists like Marsden Hartley, who also had a real feel for folk art and vernacular forms, using these themes to create a new American visual language. The painting remains ambiguous, inviting us to meditate on the beauty of everyday objects.