Wings of the Morning 

Editor: So, this watercolor piece, "Wings of the Morning," is by Edward Robert Hughes. There's a figure seemingly suspended in flight amidst a swarm of birds and bats. It feels…transitional. Between night and day, maybe, or innocence and experience. What do you see in it? Curator: A dream, most likely. Or perhaps the artist grappling with the complexities of light and dark within himself. The cascade of birds, morphing into...bats? The sheer ambiguity feels intentional. It hints at the blurred lines between the idyllic and the unsettling. Do you see how her gaze doesn't quite meet ours? Editor: No, it’s averted, dreamy, maybe even a bit sad? Like she's lost in the very transformation she embodies. It makes me think about that moment when a beautiful dream begins to fade. Curator: Precisely. It's as though Hughes is capturing that ephemeral moment, that fleeting sense of wonder as it slips away. Romanticism often uses light to depict idealised states but it has a dark side, which seems to come through here. Perhaps the morning doesn’t deliver what was expected! It looks quite dark down below her. Editor: True! It’s almost like a before-and-after scene combined in one. Looking at the color palettes, I notice how the darker hues down below add such emotional contrast. Curator: Yes, and did you notice the mountain in the distance? It anchors the fantasy a bit. Makes me wonder what lies beyond… It grounds the figure while she is free. Perhaps even reminds her she'll return? Editor: Maybe…Well, I hadn't thought about it quite that way. I was focusing more on her expression. Curator: That’s the beauty of it, isn't it? So much going on at once! But all to support one feeling: loss, beauty and potential transformation. Editor: This was certainly a work full of emotion. I am glad I noticed it today.