Susanna Southwell c. 19th century

Editor: So, this is "Susanna Southwell," a drawing and print from around the 19th century by William B. Closson. It’s a wood engraving on paper. It kind of has this dreamy, romantic feel to it. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: You know, it feels like stepping into a forgotten poem. Susanna Southwell is positioned so gracefully in the landscape. There's a serenity there. And then you see that hand-written inscription that almost gives the drawing its own biography, which in turn blurs reality and myth. I'm drawn to those personal touches. Aren't you? Editor: Absolutely! It makes the whole thing feel much more intimate. Like, what do you make of her expression? She seems so calm, maybe even a little sad? Curator: It's that ambiguity, isn't it? Is it pensiveness or just melancholy? I like to think that William B. Closson invites us to project our own emotions and history. That look also ties to its period, romanticism and all the emotion. It is not merely a depiction but an opening, perhaps an invitation to a conversation. Editor: A conversation... I like that. I hadn't thought about it that way. There's so much to unpack! Curator: Yes. To me the whole piece is not merely a still image, it’s a captured emotion, history, or maybe even a shared secret with Susanna. Do you now also feel its emotional ties with the landscape, or still just a drawing and a woman? Editor: Definitely the landscape now! It’s like the trees themselves are holding their breath. Thanks, I never thought of engravings as something that could be so emotional! Curator: Art has a funny way of doing that to us. Always something more if you only lend it an eye and mind.