Wallet c. 1939

Curator: Looking at this drawing, I see a handcrafted object rendered with care and detail, titled "Wallet" and made around 1939 by Ralph Morton using colored pencils. What's your first take? Editor: It’s wonderfully… busy! All those tiny colored squares make my eyes dance. And the fact it's named? It gives it this unexpected personality, like it’s a tiny house for important pocket things. Curator: Exactly, the naming speaks volumes! Placing "A'Thomas Wilson" so centrally elevates it from a simple object into a personal emblem, raising questions of class, access, and perhaps even commissioned craftwork during that era. The attention to detail hints at social identities intricately intertwined with domestic craft. Editor: Hmm, interesting. My immediate thought was, who was A'Thomas Wilson and what was the relationship with the creator? The way the colors are combined gives me a cheerful almost childlike feeling. Was the reference to childhood intentional, I wonder, in the drawing? The artist managed to create almost a tactile impression despite the drawing being two-dimensional. Curator: I'd suggest viewing that naiveté cautiously. This artwork arrives from a context rife with social and economic stratification. Even 'folk art' operates inside paradigms of labor and representation, its inherent qualities being tied to cultural status of "making." Were wallets themselves symbols in early-20th century communities as tools, indicators of societal advancement or financial burden? Editor: Fair point. I was letting myself drift away with colors and shape. But now, reframing in that light, I guess the act of drawing it must have felt like capturing more than just a possession? Like holding on to something symbolic during hard times. It's both beautiful and burdened now that you say it. Curator: That duality shapes so much of art; its simultaneous reflection and rejection of the status quo. Appreciating the wallet also becomes viewing the artistic space given at the point where artistry meets common existence while examining societal undertones within early twentieth century settings for our global comprehension. Editor: So, the image then almost dares us to reconsider objects we overlook? I guess my colourful meanderings ultimately led us toward more solid truths hidden just beneath pretty façades, after all. Curator: Precisely. Thank you for sharing a pathway for new perspectives! Editor: Anytime! Let's discover and explore something completely distinct from our current discoveries immediately!