Childhood II 1973 - 1975

Curator: Here we have Frances Richards' lithograph "Childhood II," part of the Tate Collection. Doesn't it feel like a memory, somehow faded and ethereal? Editor: It does. The muted greens and the stark white figures give it a very dreamlike quality. I wonder about the floating figure in the background... Curator: Perhaps a representation of the boundless imagination of childhood, unburdened by gravity. Richards, working amidst the mid-20th century's socio-political upheavals, often explored themes of innocence and vulnerability in her art. Editor: So, a conscious effort to reclaim an idea of purity, perhaps? The dream figure juxtaposed with these two grounded figures definitely creates tension. Curator: Yes, a tension and a longing. And the seemingly simple lines and shapes belie a complex emotional landscape, don’t you think? Editor: Absolutely. It’s deceptively simple, yet it resonates with so much depth. Makes you think about what we lose as we grow.