"Punch" Boxer with Blue Coat c. 1937

Curator: At first glance, it’s somewhat unsettling. The garish palette, especially the stark reds, juxtaposed with a fragile medium like watercolor... intriguing. Editor: Here we have "Punch" Boxer with Blue Coat by Ruth Abrams, created around 1937. Abrams captures this figure – perhaps a Punch and Judy character – with an unexpectedly sensitive touch considering its inherently grotesque nature. Curator: That touch is precisely what complicates it. The figure seems mass-produced, the kind of popular entertainment available at the time. The choice to elevate it to a watercolor portrait feels… deliberately subversive, doesn’t it? She draws our eye to the object's production, and the labour that goes into puppetry. Editor: Indeed. Consider the historical context of 1937. The nation still grappling with the Depression, amidst rising anxieties about the global stage. Punch, traditionally a symbol of anarchy and the subversion of authority, acquires new meaning in that time. I wonder what it meant for her, as a female artist during that period. Curator: I like your attention to class here, too. It almost democratizes the artistic process – making something so overtly 'low brow' the subject of more refined material. The textures! Look closely and you can appreciate the texture, particularly in the rendering of the costume. Editor: Exactly! What seems almost caricature also contains thoughtful social commentary. His defiant posture… the exaggerated features… this speaks volumes about power, performance, and the anxieties present in popular entertainment. Are we meant to find him humorous, or slightly threatening? I think it depends on our reading of context here, what each viewer brings to it. Curator: This tension encapsulates much of what I find compelling in it. Abrams is using available resources – subject and materials – and crafting something unexpectedly thought-provoking, no? I keep coming back to the economy of her method. Editor: Ultimately, Ruth Abrams manages to breathe surprising complexity into this seemingly simple portrait. Its engagement with questions of representation, labour and class ensures its continued resonance for today's audiences. Curator: I concur. There is always value in work that blurs art categories like "high" and "low". Editor: I agree, making work of popular entertainment adds layers of social complexity, particularly in Abrams' era.