Peter and Mary 1941

Curator: This somber little print catches my eye. Editor: It’s "Peter and Mary," an etching by Will Barnet, created in 1941. The Second World War was raging. Curator: The Madonna-like pose immediately conveys the weight of motherhood. Mary’s gaze is downcast, perhaps weary, holding her child. Peter looks alert but also seems somehow detached, disconnected. Editor: Look at the hatch marks creating texture on their clothes and throughout the background. Barnet clearly put much thought into the layering of the etching, the labor, and the repetitive action required. It makes you consider the broader history of printmaking, how accessible it could be as a medium. Curator: Indeed. Etchings allow for subtle gradations of tone, reinforcing that sense of quiet introspection. Notice, too, how the strong vertical lines frame Mary and Peter, giving a feeling of confinement. They appear to be near a door but are kept within by shadow. Does it echo wider anxieties around familial protection, loss, or even just domestic limitations on women’s labour during wartime? Editor: The simplicity of the clothing suggests they aren't people of high means. Etching, as a print medium, served multiple classes. Here we see how a portrait of intimacy might reach audiences of all sorts—reflecting daily labor in different ways. Curator: It certainly invites interpretation on multiple levels. The way Barnet portrays this archetypal image is powerful. Editor: He used such modest means to reveal a common subject. What's compelling is the simple access, making artwork available to many. The print is an expression of time through repetitive action and also through a potentially wide sphere of engagement. It invites empathy with lives that stretch beyond the artwork itself.