Four Figures and a Cat. Verso: study of Hareton 

Curator: This is Lady Edna Clarke Hall's "Four Figures and a Cat," a pencil drawing held at the Tate. There's a study of Hareton on the verso, which I always found interesting. Editor: It feels so ephemeral, almost like a memory sketched in haste. The raw materiality of the pencil on paper is striking. Curator: Hall was known for her expressive watercolors, but this sketch reveals her process. The swift strokes suggest immediacy; how the figures were constructed with such basic materials. Editor: I'm drawn to the ambiguous setting, too. Is it a stage? A dreamscape? It makes me think about the artist’s own relationship to representation. Curator: Hall's position within the artistic circles of her time certainly influenced her aesthetic, and this piece gives insight into the context of her practice. Editor: Ultimately, what stays with me is the starkness, the unrefined quality. Curator: It leaves you with questions, doesn't it? Editor: Indeed. A peek into the artist's workshop.