Card Number 187, Emma Carson, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-6) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: This is card number 187 featuring Emma Carson from the "Actors and Actresses" series by Duke Sons & Co., dating back to the 1880s. It looks like a photograph, but it's also described as a print. I'm struck by the rigid composition; the text at the top paired with her direct gaze creates a formal feel. What stands out to you? Curator: The construction of the image certainly demands scrutiny. Focus, if you will, on the spatial relationships. The foreground flattens, placing emphasis on the texture and tonal gradations of the dress. This, coupled with the typography at the top, competes for the viewer's attention. Editor: So, you are drawn more to the surface and the arrangements of shapes and forms rather than a sense of the actress’s persona. It's interesting because portraiture of the time usually sought to capture individual character. Curator: Precisely. Consider how the figure is situated in relation to the frame. Note the limited range of values and how that contributes to the artwork's overall flatness. Does the interplay between these design choices and their impact not render the sitter secondary to aesthetic form? Editor: I never considered the flatness a deliberate choice. I see your point about the tension created between the foreground subject and textual elements. This card offers so much more than a celebrity likeness! Curator: Yes, the arrangement subverts a traditional understanding of the portrait; and one gains an understanding that it is not so much likeness of the subject at hand, but a representation of shape. It certainly provides opportunities to deconstruct conventional viewing habits. Editor: I'm definitely going to pay more attention to the formal relationships and the surface qualities in portraiture going forward. Thanks!