Free Hand Decorated Wall c. 1939

Curator: This watercolor and pencil drawing, circa 1939, is called "Free Hand Decorated Wall." I find the floral and ribbon motif very elegant, almost like an antique wallpaper fragment. Editor: I get a somber feeling from this; the palette of grays against a muted background lends a certain gravitas to what could have been a very light, fanciful design. It's simultaneously pretty and melancholic. Curator: Decorative arts like this were so crucial because of their widespread integration with day-to-day life. Think of the power of visual symbols to transmit emotional knowledge about comfort, beauty, and even belonging for so many people who interact with it on a daily basis in a domestic sphere. This one certainly evokes tradition and historical reference for me. Editor: Yes, it definitely speaks of tradition. But there’s something about the era that underpins this that I think we can consider – the late 30s. In the background was the Depression. A pattern like this offered accessible beauty and possibly escape. It invites considerations around class and gender in art and design as well. How might women's creative expressions get valued? Where might you see them on display? Curator: I love that reading, placing decorative artwork like this in a tangible moment and political framing. We can consider how this piece presents certain visual continuities in feminine aesthetics. These ribboned botanicals tie this piece directly into longer, older traditions. Editor: Absolutely. And these objects we deem decorative reveal an alternative type of labor, usually gendered. Perhaps considering who this labor has been delegated to, its historic status and relationship to "high" art, and also what functions it served, help us broaden our picture of art's capacity for expression and resistance. Curator: I'll be thinking more deeply about that distinction between fine and decorative arts after considering your commentary here today. This "Free Hand Decorated Wall" serves as a good challenge to this concept. Editor: Me, too! Thank you. It is a small reminder that domestic artistry had profound value, especially considering women and their spaces, for creative expression in complicated times.