The Empty Purse (replica of ‘For Sale’) c. 1857

Curator: James Collinson painted this piece, called "The Empty Purse," at an unknown date. It's currently located at the Tate Collections. Editor: It's unsettling, actually. The details of her dress are rendered with such precision, yet her gaze seems so distant and resigned. Curator: Consider the significance of the purse, or lack thereof, indicating financial straits. This was painted during a time of immense social change and economic disparity. What did it mean to be a woman in that era? Editor: Yes, and notice the almost obsessive detail given to the textiles and objects around her. The layering of labor involved in creating and consuming such objects is quite striking. Curator: These details speak volumes. The colors, the textures, the careful arrangements – they reflect the symbolic weight placed upon women and their roles in society. Editor: It feels like Collinson is using the material to comment on the societal expectations placed upon women, almost trapping them within the domestic sphere. Curator: Exactly. He gives us an echo of Victorian anxieties through the visual language of objects and pose. Editor: Looking closer, one cannot help but see the social commentary embedded within this work.