Portrait of a Girl (Harriet J.) 1919

Curator: The Harvard Art Museums presents "Portrait of a Girl (Harriet J.)" by Childe Hassam. It looks to be a pencil sketch. Editor: It's captivating! The stark contrast between light and shadow gives it such a raw, almost unfinished quality. Curator: Hassam was known for his oil paintings, but this sketch reveals his mastery of draftsmanship, the materiality of graphite on paper. What labor went into this seemingly simple study? Editor: The sketch embodies late 19th-century aesthetics. Consider the accessibility of portraiture at this time, how images circulated, and the rising bourgeois desire for likenesses. Curator: Exactly, but what about the material conditions allowing Hassam to produce it? Paper production, graphite mining… Editor: A fascinating snapshot into the cultural landscape of portraiture at the time. I wonder who Harriet J. was and what her place in society might have been? Curator: It all speaks to the broader structures that shaped art production and consumption. Thanks for diving into it with me. Editor: Agreed! A wonderful example of how art reflects and shapes our understanding of history.