Study for a Portrait of Louise Nathurst 19th-20th century

Curator: This is Denman Waldo Ross’s “Study for a Portrait of Louise Nathurst,” held here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's haunting, isn't it? That sparse line work against the bare paper evokes such a feeling of quiet contemplation. Curator: Indeed. Note how the artist uses only a few lines to suggest form, emphasizing the structure and planes of her face and posture. The grid is a clear structural element. Editor: But the grid also suggests constraint. It's like Nathurst is trapped in her own thoughts or perhaps even by societal expectations. The jar evokes feelings of domesticity. Curator: An interesting observation. I see it more as Ross exploring spatial relationships. The deliberate incompleteness adds dynamism. Editor: I feel a sense of incompleteness too, an almost melancholic feeling. Curator: Ross captures something very modern here, doesn't he? Editor: He does, using minimal means to maximal emotional effect.