Toy Bank: Monkey and Lion c. 1937

Curator: This artwork is a colored-pencil drawing by George File, created around 1937. It's entitled "Toy Bank: Monkey and Lion". What strikes you initially about it? Editor: Well, the lion's wide-eyed expression feels incredibly loaded, almost as though it's embodying a mix of surprise, maybe fear. The positioning and its relationship with the other elements in the drawing make you wonder what deeper symbolic function it serves. Curator: The representation is undoubtedly heavy with familiar symbols – consider the historical implications of depicting the "king of the jungle" in what could be conceived as a state of alarm or vulnerability. The gaze especially undermines its typically conceived sovereignty. Editor: Right, and the choice of placing the monkeys in that power dynamic adds an even richer context to ponder; their upward positioning seems quite calculated, really turning up the dial on the possible meanings. But the object as subject for an artwork... interesting choice. Curator: This drawing captures the likeness of a mechanical bank; the popular toy serves as a perfect vessel for reflecting ideas around labor, capital, race, and class, given the moment of its creation during the late Depression era. Think about children being trained in those systems of value. Editor: Ah, now that's an additional lens. It makes the symbolic implications even more layered. This imagery triggers so much. It isn’t accidental; each element seems carefully chosen to evoke associations that play with the period's values. And yet, given the title, the work retains a feeling of childlike innocence... how can we understand these parallel trajectories of visual symbols, as innocence and awareness intertwine and complicate one another? Curator: It challenges viewers to confront societal structures embedded in even the simplest playthings, drawing attention to cultural conditioning—perhaps a commentary on power structures perpetuated across generations, making even the iconography of the nursery suspect. Editor: Food for thought, indeed. File has sparked quite a conversation here through something as seemingly simple as a toy bank drawing. I keep returning to how even childhood imagery reinforces systems of values. Curator: The power of everyday symbolism! It offers a subtle commentary on society, wouldn't you say?