Not much is known about this still-life as it is untitled and nothing is written on the back; dated 1971.

As usual, the background drapery incorporates aqua (her favourite colour). I always thought the figurine was a statue of the Virgin Mary, confusing since my grandparents were in no way Catholic. My mother recently cleared up the mystery – she told me it’s actually “a Chinese lady” because my grandmother was obsessed with the Far East. As for the other objects (the brass plate, the antelope, the glass jar, and the glove), no one knows the significance of any of them, if there was any. Perhaps there were included to experiment with representing different textures and colours.

Lee Franclemont, untitled (still life), 1971, pastel on paper. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont. Private collection.

According to dream symbology, white gloves signify “luxury and richness” and taking gloves off is a symbol of respect – I find it most most intriguing that there is only one of a pair here; where’s the other one? Has it been lost or simply not included?