Despair c. 1908 - 1909

Editor: This is Walter Sickert's sketch titled "Despair," located in the Tate Collections. The subject's posture and the title suggest a story. What social narratives might be embedded within this seemingly simple sketch? Curator: Sickert often depicted working-class life. Consider the period. How did socio-political anxieties affect the representation of ordinary individuals, particularly men, in late 19th and early 20th century art? Editor: So, it's less about personal despair and more about a broader societal feeling? Curator: It’s both, isn't it? The personal becomes a lens through which to examine broader social conditions. Sickert gives a face to societal anxieties. Editor: That makes me think differently about how artists can reflect the times. Curator: Exactly. Art isn't created in a vacuum. It's shaped by cultural forces, and in turn, shapes our understanding of them.