A Girl's Head - J 1919

Curator: The artwork we’re looking at is entitled "A Girl’s Head - J," an etching completed by Augustus John in 1919. Editor: It feels incredibly intimate. The lines are so raw, almost like a fleeting memory captured on paper. The dark, heavy hat brim casts her face in a soft shadow. Curator: Indeed. John was deeply interested in depicting individuals from marginalized communities and bohemian circles. Prints like these offered a wider accessibility to art during that period, fostering a broader appreciation. His art was considered quite daring in its portrayal of modern life, pushing against the established artistic conventions, even as it maintained more traditional formal values. Editor: The hat is interesting, it looks very much like an affectation to give the sitter a 'bohemian' appearance, contrasting against the classical clean lines of her dress-shirt. And consider how the slightly averted gaze, with that heavy-lidded eye, invites projection. She almost becomes an archetype of female sensibility. I sense a touch of melancholy. Curator: That's astute. The portrait does resonate with that spirit. There was this trend during that time when art moved away from straightforward representations toward subjective experiences. It served to disrupt existing societal notions. Do you think there is something of that spirit here? Editor: Certainly. This portrait conveys emotional depth. But I think there’s an interesting duality at play. The fine etching lines lend themselves towards some ambiguity while at the same time, the strong confident use of the hat tells the viewer so much. It feels both candid and carefully crafted, personal, yet somehow…iconic. It captures a specific moment and speaks to timeless qualities of female introspection and character. Curator: Absolutely, a print allows us to disseminate ideas. Mass media and dissemination during the Edwardian age helped democratize not only the creation of images, but their consumption, too, impacting the sitter as an artistic subject as much as John's reputation. Editor: What an intriguing tension this work creates then – caught between John, the girl, her image, and what it now conjures as cultural history, preserved on the surface of that plate. Thank you, that has been revelatory. Curator: Thank you, as well. This etching surely does serve as an intriguing lens through which to observe an era!