Rocking Horse c. 1937

Editor: So, here we have Rex F. Bush's "Rocking Horse," a watercolor drawing from around 1937. It's… strangely still, almost melancholic for something that should evoke play. What do you see in it? Curator: It’s interesting you pick up on that stillness. Consider the late 1930s, the context of the Great Depression. Toys, often symbols of carefree innocence, here become potent signifiers of social and economic anxieties. The horse itself, typically a symbol of freedom and power, is rendered static, confined. Doesn’t that make you consider who has access to such “innocent” comforts, and who doesn’t? Editor: I see what you mean. So, the rocking horse, normally an object of privilege, becomes even more complicated when positioned within its historical context? Curator: Precisely. It invites us to think about the representation of childhood itself. This image is rendered with careful attention to detail, but lacks a certain vibrancy. How does the artist employ the conventions of children's toys but simultaneously drain them of their expected energy? Editor: I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way, but now I’m seeing this image in a completely different light. Thank you. Curator: And thank you for raising questions about the quiet undercurrents of seemingly simple subjects. It highlights how deeply intertwined art is with its social and historical conditions.