‘Now you lead me,’ he said, taking her hand, ‘and i’ll take care of you’ 1919

Editor: This is Jessie Willcox Smith’s watercolor illustration from 1919, with such a long title: ‘Now you lead me,’ he said, taking her hand, ‘and i’ll take care of you.’ I find it really enchanting, like a scene lifted straight from a children’s book. How do you interpret the imagery here, especially that dynamic sense of movement? Curator: It’s interesting you mention enchantment because that’s a spell that Smith is indeed trying to cast. Consider the children, symbols of innocence, running. But from what are they running? Or towards what? Notice the dark iron fence that seems to guard a more idyllic background. Fences often mark not only boundaries, but a division between worlds, or perhaps states of being. What might they represent here, do you think? Editor: Perhaps a division between childhood adventure and the adult world looming in the background? Or even between safety and some perceived danger? Curator: Precisely! And see how Smith, drawing from her deep well of cultural symbols, employs a windswept scene and the girl carrying what looks to be a broom. Broom can symbolise purification but also witchcraft. Smith uses the familiar imagery of childhood stories, echoing the anxieties and hopes we project onto youth. Editor: So it’s not just a charming illustration but a commentary on the cultural symbols projected onto childhood itself? I hadn’t thought of it that way. Curator: Yes, Smith understood the powerful link between imagery, memory and cultural storytelling. I wonder what narratives will take hold now with modern image making... Editor: It is quite a shift to contemplate. Thank you for this wonderful insight into the symbols and deeper narrative in this seemingly simple picture.