Smiling Margot Wearing a Ruffled Bonnet c. 1902

Editor: This is "Smiling Margot Wearing a Ruffled Bonnet," a pencil drawing by Mary Cassatt from around 1902. The drawing feels so intimate, like a fleeting moment captured on paper. What captures your attention most about this piece? Curator: Oh, Margot. Her very essence feels captured, doesn't it? What strikes me is the pure, unadulterated *seeing*. Cassatt wasn't trying to prettify or idealize. She lets us glimpse childhood itself - a smudge here, an uneven line there. Imperfection is the heart of it all. Editor: That's a great point. The unfinished quality is part of its charm, isn't it? Like peeking into the artist's process. I wonder, though, how much of this was deliberate and how much was just a study. Curator: Precisely! That duality is where the magic resides. Think of it: pencil on paper, fleeting, and unfinished; yet radiating a tangible presence! Was it deliberate, as in 'performance?' That invites an illusion of thought. Editor: That's true, thinking about it in the cultural context, women Impressionists at the time sought a style that showed candid images. The drawing style helps reinforce the subject of childhood, too. Curator: Mmm. Very true! So much to appreciate on multiple layers here! Editor: I’m glad we took a closer look; it reveals more intention than meets the eye initially! Curator: I concur! Now, onward to more seeing!