Inlaid Sewing Box c. 1937

Editor: This is Francis Law Durand's "Inlaid Sewing Box" from around 1937, rendered in colored pencil. It has an interesting three-dimensional effect despite being a drawing. What catches your eye about the work? Curator: I find myself considering the act of transcription itself – Durand translating a tangible, perhaps painstakingly crafted object, into a two-dimensional representation using colored pencil. It makes you consider the value judgements inherent in craft versus ‘high art’. Editor: That’s interesting. So, it's not just a depiction of a box but an act of valuing, or even elevating craft through the drawing process? Curator: Exactly! Think about the social context: 1937, still feeling the effects of the Great Depression. Items were often made by hand and then reproduced with precise methods. Consider too, the gendered aspect of a sewing box. How does its transformation into art change how we understand women’s labor and artistry within domestic spaces at the time? It challenges what materials were chosen to become art versus what was overlooked as domestic work. Editor: I never considered that before. So the artist is forcing us to examine this intersection between functional object, artistic process and then a socioeconomic condition? Curator: Precisely. We have to think about who would have had access to creating and owning something like an inlaid box, compared to Durand choosing colored pencils. Editor: This changes my view of this image! I'll be thinking about material choices and social hierarchies differently from now on. Curator: That's the power of examining the process itself – seeing the art, the craft, and the societal factors all intertwined.