[title not known] Verso: Fourteen Group Figure Studies 

Editor: This is an untitled sketch by John Flaxman, from around the late 18th or early 19th century, a study in graphite on paper housed at the Tate. It’s so delicate, almost ethereal. What do you make of it? Curator: Looking at the graphite itself, we can consider Flaxman's access to materials. Was this readily available, or a luxury? The paper, too: its production, its cost. How did that impact Flaxman’s process and the kinds of sketches he would produce? Editor: So, it’s less about the subject and more about the making? Curator: Exactly. The very act of sketching, the tools used, and the social context of their production are key to understanding Flaxman's practice. It’s a lens into the economics and labor of art at the time.