Hair Brooch and Bracelet c. 1936

William P. Shearwood drew this hair brooch and bracelet with delicate lines and soft washes of watercolor on paper. I am curious about the intimacy of the work, right? Like, maybe he’s really close to the sitter. The bracelet and brooch, rendered with such precise detail, show the artist’s deep connection to the material itself. I can imagine Shearwood carefully braiding and weaving the strands of hair to create a tangible object out of something so fragile and personal. He must have been fascinated by the way light catches on its surface and how to capture the unique texture. These forms of embodied expression embrace ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations, like whispers from another era, and speak of a wider practice of artists across time, inspiring one another’s creativity.