Blank page: verso: Studies of a Chair and a Stepstool 1872

Editor: John Singer Sargent’s "Studies of a Chair and a Stepstool," done in pencil, feels so simple and immediate. What do you see in this humble sketch? Curator: The arrangement itself is quite deliberate. Three distinct forms, rendered with varying degrees of clarity, hinting at a narrative. Consider the chair—an age-old symbol of authority, domesticity, even absence. What does it evoke for you? Editor: I suppose it makes me think about everyday life and how even the most mundane objects can be beautiful if you really look at them. Curator: Precisely! Sargent is imbuing these functional objects with meaning. The stool, perhaps, symbolizes a lower status, or maybe utility. The blankness invites our own interpretations. Editor: It's like he's offering us a glimpse into his process, and inviting us to consider what these symbols mean to us, too. Curator: Indeed. Sargent uses the readily-available to create something timeless. Editor: I'll definitely be thinking about chairs differently now.