Gram's Needlepoint

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on October 25, 2015 at 7:59pm

Curator’s Comments:   

 

There’s an obvious charm to Gram’s Needlepoint, and the watercolor medium seems particularly apropos to the feminine Victorian subjects. The faint blue floral pattern in the background is also reminiscent of antique textile embellishment.  While providing a contextual ground for the shoe and purse, the background also complements the tinted orange hues in the still life; softening the overall value pattern while adding interesting visual contrast and complexity.  The image is sweet, but formally moves beyond simple nostalgia.  The pair of items creates a notable composition in that they take on a figural quality, and appear to be in quiet dialogue. The actual paper size noted suggests they’re painted at least life size, emphasizing the physicality of the objects.  When viewing paintings on screen I often expect them to be larger, but in this case a more diminutive size would have been anticipated.