In the early 20th century, as increasingly tall buildings introduced new perspectives onto the world, photographers sought ways to capture this way of seeing. Many of Charles Sheeler’s compositions for his celebrated drawings and paintings began as photographs and were indebted to the contemporaneous technological advancements in architecture and photography. Join curator Mitra Abbaspour for a conversation about the avant-garde underpinnings of Sheeler’s delightfully endearing drawing of a cat lying on a chair basking in sunlight.

This talk is offered in conjunction with the special exhibition Sketch, Shade, Smudge: Drawing from Gray to Black, on view from September 12, 2025 to January 18, 2026.

Sketch, Shade, Smudge: Drawing from Gray to Black celebrates the act of drawing using familiar tools—charcoal, chalk, crayon, and graphite. Each type of material has distinctive properties: charcoal can be intensely rich and velvety, or delicately gray and suggestive, while graphite is slippery, shiny, and easy to erase. Crayon is deeply black and waxy, whereas chalk can be crumbly and diffuse. The creative manipulations of these media—smudging, scraping, and erasing—make them versatile tools for adding intensity, depth, precision, and expression to an artist’s vision.

Led by:
Mitra Abbaspour, Houghton Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the gallery talk. Space is limited, and talks are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.