The frog prince 1921

Margaret Evans Price conjured this, The Frog Prince, with who knows what – maybe watercolor or colored pencil. Look how she lets the white of the paper breathe. It’s all about seeing, really. The drawing is so flat, so unassuming. It’s more about suggestion than description. The ripple of the water's edge is just a simple line. I love that. And the princess, she's not some perfect beauty. Her hand is splayed open, like, “Well, here goes nothing!” That frog, though, perched on his lily pad like he owns the place. The colours, all muted and dreamy, like a half-forgotten fairytale. And the way the scene is framed by the tree and the pond, it’s like looking into a little world. You could say someone like Arthur Rackham might have been an influence, but Price brings her own delicate touch. It’s a reminder that art isn’t about perfection, but about opening a door to the imagination.