Doll 1940

Curator: Well, this is certainly… unsettling. There's something about its stare that really makes me question the comfort that dolls usually offer. Editor: I can see that. Let’s take a closer look. What we have here is a drawing from 1940 simply titled “Doll,” by Charles Goodwin. It seems to be rendered primarily in graphite, charcoal, and perhaps even some watercolor touches. A medium fitting for the somber, and almost ghost-like aura of the doll. Curator: It's interesting you say ghost-like, because the pattern on the dress, these repetitive diamonds bisected by vertical stripes, feels almost like an attempt to contain something restless. Diamond motifs often suggest protection, don't they? But here, they're muted, almost overwhelmed. Editor: Yes, I agree, and the limited palette really amplifies that feeling. Browns, creams, grays... they speak to a kind of faded memory, or maybe even a loss of innocence that ties well to the context in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Children's toys produced during those turbulent times might well carry anxieties within them. Consider, if you will, that toys are produced during wartime to represent peace or security while actually embodying turmoil. Curator: That makes me think about how doll clothing mirrors social values as well. It might indicate an attempt at maintaining normalcy, especially when materials were scarce. So the very act of dressing this doll in what appears to be somewhat tattered fabric can almost act as a quiet commentary on resourcefulness in a society strained by external pressures. Editor: It's fascinating to think how an object as seemingly benign as a doll could be read for a whole range of social and cultural anxieties of that time. Even though these motifs often convey purity, the doll's unflinching gaze, paired with the diamond and stripe patterns suggests there might be some subtle questioning of cultural identity within. Curator: I concur. This piece reminds us that even children's playthings become imbued with the worries of society. The unsettling stare will certainly stick with me. Editor: It's an invitation to think about those overlooked anxieties – rendered delicately and unassumingly. A simple drawing, filled with depth.