Man in Top Hat, Smoking a Cigar c. late 19th century

Editor: This is Robert William Vonnoh’s “Man in Top Hat, Smoking a Cigar,” from the late 19th century, done in pencil. I get this immediate sense of...boredom, almost? Or maybe just intense contemplation. What jumps out at you when you look at this drawing? Curator: You know, boredom is interesting. Perhaps, it’s not boredom, but rather an incredible patience. See how the smoke curls – a symbol, perhaps, of time’s passage, each puff a fleeting moment, held delicately in the grand theatre of existence? He's practically radiating the feeling, wouldn’t you say? He could be anyone, anywhere... and yet, he is *here*. Look at how those crossed arms just add to the feeling, right? Editor: Right, the pose definitely gives off a closed-off vibe, but you're right, there’s something grand about him. The top hat adds to it, even if he is kind of slumped over. How does his outfit play into the composition? Curator: Clothes maketh the man, so they say. Here, that dark jacket and starched shirt suggest he might belong to a higher class. You see, clothing isn’t merely adornment; it whispers stories of station, purpose, perhaps even regret. Is this why he stares vacantly out into the void? I wonder. Or do you disagree? Editor: I see your point. It adds a layer of narrative, that's for sure! It does give him some depth, more than just a guy in a hat with a smoke. Curator: Exactly! We are complex beings in very big hats, each crease in that coat and top hat, each wisp of smoke, a fleeting sign of life in the shadow play. Editor: That’s a perspective shift for me; looking beyond the immediate feeling to consider time, context, and story. Curator: And that is how one finds their way deeper into the soul of things, and also a reason that galleries have a donation box!