Tree Trunk Hitching Post c. 1937

Richard Correll made this ‘Tree Trunk Hitching Post’ on paper, we don't know when but I'd guess mid 20th century. There's a real sense of craft and process here. The piece is mostly brown, but it's not just brown, is it? It’s a layered, subtle brown, built up from many tones. The texture in this is intriguing. It's a flat surface, but the artist has conjured volume. Look at the knots on the trunk, how they pull forward. And that green, thick and luscious at the base of the post - it's like an oasis, a little burst of life and colour that keeps the picture from becoming too austere. I love the way the hitching post becomes almost anthropomorphic; it's as if Correll is saying that art is about more than just representation, it's about imbuing an object with feeling and spirit, a touch of the surreal. I think of Philip Guston, with his personal and quirky approach to objects. We never really know what the artist means. The joy is in the looking, the imagining, the feeling.