Woman in a Green Blouse, Seated 1952

Curator: “Woman in a Green Blouse, Seated” by Vera Myhre from 1952…what’s your first reaction to it? Editor: Stark. It feels raw, almost unsettling. There’s a roughness to the print that makes the subject appear vulnerable, yet resolute. The lines seem intentionally unrefined, pushing beyond pure representation. Curator: Absolutely. Myhre was working within a specific post-war Norwegian context, and it's impossible to separate her work from the evolving social and political discourse on gender roles at the time. She seems to capture a certain anxiety of modern femininity. Look at how her eyes glance slightly away. Editor: Focusing on materiality, the printmaking process itself contributes heavily to that feeling. This isn't a smooth, idealized depiction. You can see the texture of the block, the grain, the places where the ink isn’t perfectly even. It's laborious; you get a sense of the artist’s hand at work, pressing and imprinting. It brings to mind those larger socio-economic factors involved in the post-war process of industrialized labor as a theme, too. Curator: Right. It's about labor but also presentation. She isn't romanticizing womanhood, or erasing those frictions and social obligations that shape how the model carries herself. What do you make of that acid green blouse? Editor: Color is certainly key to the affective dimensions here; it jars you. It feels slightly synthetic and not naturalistic in its hue, which links back to my original assessment of an “unsettling” feeling. It could also signal something deeper about access to materials for artistic production. Curator: It feels like Myhre wanted to capture the woman's essence, to give agency through both strength and vulnerability. Editor: Precisely, and I see it embedded directly into her process as an artist to bring forth those underlying connections. Curator: Ultimately, Myhre provides not just a portrait, but a quiet commentary on identity itself. Editor: Yes. This piece exemplifies how artistic practice can give visibility to both lived experience and the production methods which give that voice resonance.