Court Train 1935 - 1942

Editor: This is Jessie M. Benge's watercolor and drawing, "Court Train," created sometime between 1935 and 1942. There's something unfinished about it that's incredibly captivating. I am curious... What catches your eye about this work? Curator: Well, darling, isn't it evocative? I see a yearning for bygone eras, a whisper of glamour in the austerity of the interwar years. Imagine swirling around a ballroom, the train a river of crimson and ornamented gold. Though I wish Benge had left us some breadcrumbs as to who may wear it or if it even went past sketch, I imagine they sought escape in its design. What does it awaken in you? Editor: It’s intriguing to consider the dress's potential wearer and circumstance! For me, the placement of the bodice detail separately, the other unfinished one above...they almost create a story sequence on the paper. Do you think she intended to present more of a narrative? Curator: Oh, possibly, or darling, just showing off the construction itself, don't you think? It reads like an architect showing building phases in one spread, no? It certainly reads as technical drawings, as if documenting design elements or alternative versions, like a secret language understood by other fashion-minded folks in her time. A collective daydream perhaps. Editor: That comparison totally reframes how I look at the piece; the different design sketches as parts of the creative process. It moves past a simple snapshot and into something more dimensional! Thanks for expanding my perception. Curator: My pleasure, my dear. Art, just like fashion, only finds meaning with context and a keen eye. Now, go forth and embellish the world with your insights.