Portraits Of Lorna And Dorothy Bell, Daughters Of W. Heward Bell, Esq. 

Curator: This oil painting, rendered by James Jebusa Shannon, presents “Portraits Of Lorna And Dorothy Bell, Daughters Of W. Heward Bell, Esq." Take a moment. What do you notice? Editor: It feels so…comfortably staged? Like we've just walked into a warm room, late at night. The lighting’s fantastic – hitting the folds of those dresses, but then softly around their faces. Curator: Shannon's work often falls into a realm we now call "intimism," that fascination with domestic scenes, and we can certainly see traces of romanticism as well. How do you feel it fulfills these styles? Editor: Well, "intimism" definitely hits home with that almost casual intimacy the girls share, especially with the little dog being petted. As for romanticism… those cascading dresses! They remind me of something out of a dream, and those dream-like, romanticized dresses are set against the moody background. Curator: There's also something to be said for the social context here. Portraiture like this served a specific purpose, didn't it? Not merely aesthetic, but also about class, about lineage… Editor: Oh, absolutely. It’s a visual resume! Each detail, from the fur stole to the ribbons in their hair, carefully placed to hint at wealth and refinement. Still, I can’t shake the feeling there's something... a touch melancholic about it all. Perhaps it is my imagination running wild. Curator: That interpretation isn’t necessarily misplaced, I would say. These depictions were often more curated performance than spontaneous revelation. There is a slight sense of performance, of standing for one's status. The placement is precise; even their facial expressions almost read as thoughtful calculation. Editor: You’re right; the poses are so perfectly maintained; the hands gracefully holding a rose, it is not too comfortable but not unrelaxing. So perhaps they were less like sisters in a relaxed pose and more like symbols carefully constructed? Curator: I think it's somewhere in between. They were people and social signifiers. Now what has this contemplation done for you, finally? Editor: It’s funny, I began seeing warmth and I end recognizing complexity; Shannon created something beautiful, undoubtedly. It also opens to questions of performance, expectation and all that simmers under the surface of polite society. Thank you for letting me view this painting with a new lens!