Dress c. 1940

Josephine Romano made this watercolor of a dress on paper, but when? We don't know. What is captivating is the process she employed, which seems to value fluidity, and the unpredictable interactions of water and pigment. The delicate hues of pink create an atmosphere of ephemeral beauty, like a memory of something lovely. Look closely and you’ll see that Romano allows the paint to drip and pool, creating soft edges and subtle gradients. It’s almost as if the dress is dissolving before our eyes. There are touches of darker pink, and little dark red ribbons, like drops of blood. In some ways, this work reminds me of paintings by someone like Fairfield Porter, where the everyday is elevated through the act of close observation and the embrace of imperfection. But Romano brings her own sensitivity to the medium, creating something unique and deeply personal. Ultimately, “Dress” is less about the garment itself and more about the feeling it evokes, a testament to the power of art to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary.