Blank page; verso: Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain c. 1902

Editor: So this is a sketch by John Singer Sargent, probably done in the late 19th or early 20th century. It's called "Blank page; verso: Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain." It has this fleeting, almost ghostly quality. What do you make of it? Curator: Fleeting is a great word for it. It's like catching a thought just as it's forming. Sargent's economy of line is breathtaking, isn't it? He suggests form and volume with so little information. What I see is the artist capturing the essence of the sitter with incredible efficiency, like a visual haiku. Editor: A haiku, that's a great way to put it. It's more about feeling than detail. Curator: Precisely. And I find myself wondering, what was the relationship between Sargent and Mrs. Chamberlain? Was this a study for a larger work, or a more intimate portrait meant only for his eyes? We can only imagine. Editor: It's like a whisper of a painting. Curator: Indeed! And sometimes, the whispers are the most evocative.