Key 1935 - 1942

Edna Rex created this watercolor work on paper, entitled 'Key.' Keys have a history steeped in symbolism, representing access, authority, and knowledge. The image of the key is loaded, culturally speaking. Its artistic interpretations often reflected the prevailing social structures, sometimes conservative, sometimes progressive. There is not much information about the artist, but art historians can work with scant biographical details. By investigating the cultural contexts of the artist's life, we may find more meaning in the image itself. If Rex was working in a time of significant social change, for example, it might be possible to see this work as a comment on issues such as access to education, to resources or economic power. The historian considers how economic, political, and cultural forces might have shaped Rex's artistic vision. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context, not fixed or universal.