Sofa c. 1936

Florence Choate's 'Sofa' is made with watercolor and graphite on paper and pictures just that, a sofa. I wonder what Florence was thinking when they made this. Maybe they were interested in how to depict textures like the soft, striped fabric of the sofa. There’s such a specific, almost architectural feel, that it makes me think about precision and clarity of line. Imagine the patience involved in rendering each stripe, each curve of the wooden frame. I see her studying this object and I think, in a way, she is trying to possess it. It reminds me of the work of other artists who blur the lines between observation and interpretation. It's like she’s saying, “I see this, I understand it, and now I can share it with you." Painters are always learning from one another. It is an act of generosity. Each stroke a conversation, each color a shared experience across time. Painting is not just about seeing but about feeling, about the embodied experience of translating the world onto a surface, where ambiguity meets intention, and where new possibilities emerge.