Figurehead c. 1939

Curator: Good morning! Today, we’re diving into "Figurehead," a watercolor drawing from around 1939 by Jane Iverson. It's part of a collection of watercolors by Iverson. Editor: My first impression is one of weathered elegance, even melancholy. The color palette, especially the faded red of his coat and the worn blue drape, really speaks to a sense of history. I can almost feel the salty air around him! Curator: Absolutely, that’s what grabbed me too. It’s a watercolor, which surprises me, it looks almost carved, three-dimensional. I wonder, were these watercolors ever used for some kind of commercial reproduction? Did they decorate some product package? I like thinking of the labor involved, what was going on with art jobs in 1939. Editor: I find the artist's rendering fascinating, the man is both handsome, with chiseled, wood-like qualities and there is just something ever-so-slightly sad. I like that ambivalence. It gives him an aura of profound dignity despite this weathered aesthetic. I want to tell him a story, about far-away shores. Curator: The piece has a sense of the handmade about it—this is not a quick rendering; you see each stroke carefully laid down, and so a kind of monumentality to work for hire—for how long was it a piece of labor? Editor: Do you get a feeling he's listening or pondering? There’s a downward gaze, an interiority I feel, even though he’s supposedly “just” a decorative carving. It’s amazing to think it captures so much emotion. It invites such personal reflection. Curator: I see it that way as well! A decorative form takes on more in how we process it through our experience. But, I wonder who this carving represents. Does that matter to our engagement with the image? Maybe some patron, or captain, that in turn gave form to so many historical inequities. Thinking that way doesn't stop my interest, though, rather expands it. Editor: Agreed, you can't ignore that. Maybe there's room to consider multiple viewpoints. Thanks, your labor-intensive perspective helped unlock aspects I hadn’t fully considered. Curator: The pleasure's all mine! These watercolors really show off our history, layer by layer, stroke by stroke, carving by carving, you see.