Morning Mist 

Editor: So this is Rose O'Neill's "Morning Mist." The date isn't known, but it is watercolor on paper. There is a such an ethereal feeling here! It is really dreamy...almost otherworldly. What is your take on this landscape? Curator: It certainly evokes a sense of reverie. Considering O'Neill's diverse artistic output – from commercial illustrations to feminist cartoons, it makes me wonder how a piece like this fits into her larger body of work. Given the stylistic leaning toward Impressionism and its depiction of an American landscape, it would be very tempting to see her exploration of nature as a rejection of industrialization. It also subtly challenged the dominance of male landscape painters during that period. How do you feel it challenges conventions? Editor: Well, as you say, the softness. It seems almost at odds with the hard edges and industrial subject matter we often see, perhaps suggesting a conscious choice to embrace a more traditionally feminine aesthetic or point of view? Curator: Precisely. Furthermore, the very act of O'Neill engaging in plein-air painting, venturing outside the studio, signifies a break from traditional, often male-dominated, art production spaces and social structures of the time. This connects her to contemporary discussions on women’s roles in art. What’s particularly intriguing here is how she chooses watercolor. Its fluidity mirrors the natural mist itself, but what else does that decision signify to you? Editor: Hmm, perhaps embracing an 'accidental' medium that embraces this notion of flux and change, so pertinent to that specific moment. It creates a quiet but meaningful visual argument. Curator: Exactly. It makes you think of how institutions frame her work and that it provides layers beyond simply a pretty picture. A painting carries historical meaning, doesn’t it? Editor: I never thought of this particular artwork that way! Thanks, I am seeing it in a different light now!