Charles Pratt, Lord Camden (1713-1794) 1779

Curator: Here we see Wedgwood's intaglio, "Charles Pratt, Lord Camden," currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's austere, isn't it? The profile is like a frozen moment of authority, all contained within this tiny oval. Curator: Indeed. The monochrome palette and classical profile format echo ancient Roman cameos, lending Camden an air of timeless statesmanship. Camden, a staunch defender of individual liberties, is here idealized. It reminds us of the visual language used to convey power. Editor: And that wig—a symbol of status but also a kind of mask. I wonder what he was really like beneath all that powdered artifice. Curator: Perhaps the portrait's power lies in this tension between public persona and unknowable interiority. Editor: Makes you wonder about the faces we present to the world. Curator: It's certainly food for thought, isn't it?