Headdress and Collar c. 1936

Dorothy Gernon made this drawing, Headdress and Collar, at some point during her long life using what looks like watercolour or gouache on paper. The off-white palette creates a soft and gentle mood. It's kind of like Gernon is building up these layers of frills and bows almost like a paper doll outfit. I'm really drawn to the absence of a face here. Instead of trying to capture a likeness, Gernon reduces the face to a blank space, a peach-toned oval, that invites us to imagine who might wear this elaborate bonnet. The negative space activates my brain: it could be a portrait of anyone. It reminds me a bit of James Ensor's theatrical portraits, although her approach is less grotesque and more dreamlike. You can't pin down Gernon's project, which I really like. She lets the piece float in its own ambiguity.