March, from Twelve Months of Flowers n.d.

Curator: Right now, we're looking at "March, from Twelve Months of Flowers," housed right here at the Art Institute of Chicago. The artist is Henry Fletcher, and this particular print combines etching and watercolor on paper. What's your initial feeling about it? Editor: Well, the first thing that strikes me is its controlled explosion of color. It feels like a tightly packed garden bursting with life, all contained within that neat little frame. Does it strike you the same way? Curator: It does indeed. Floral arrangements have long served as potent symbolic repositories. Notice how specific blooms—the tulips, the anemones—each carry historical weight and represent certain qualities like love or fleeting beauty. Fletcher, in his careful arrangement, seems to be composing not just a pretty picture, but a complex allegory. Editor: Ah, so more than meets the casual eye? I was drawn in by the faded colors; it is like holding a very old pressed flower. I imagined what a different arrangement might look like – far simpler, a single stark tulip instead. What then? Curator: A single tulip would change the entire symbolic landscape! This abundance, this layering, speaks to March as a month of transition, full of potential, bursting forth after winter. A single tulip could imply any number of alternative themes—the singularity of beauty, the coming warmth perhaps. Editor: That makes perfect sense. Also, there’s something so inherently hopeful in floral imagery. They push up from dark soil… and BAM… flowers! Spring always promises rebirth; it suggests that our most challenging periods can lead to profound growth. Maybe that is part of its symbolism. Curator: I agree. These twelve-month flower series were highly popular. Think about the cultural yearning for spring. There is also an aspect of claiming power, capturing in image form what's seasonal, uncontrollable. And the frame containing nature here gives that added layer. Editor: I am so with you. Thinking about that aspect – claiming power – changes everything. So more than botanical prettiness! A moment snatched from time and contained forever. I will be thinking of this for a long time. Curator: Precisely. A small image but deeply evocative.